Internal Consistency and Construct Validity of Two Versions of the Revised Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire

Abstract

The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ; Marks, 1973) is the questionnaire most extensively used to measure imagery vividness, but two newer versions have been developed. In this study, the reliability and construct validity of these two measures were assessed: the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire–2 (VVIQ–2) and the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire–Revised Version (VVIQ–RV). A total of 206 undergraduate psychology students completed both questionnaires, and to assess construct validity, they also completed the Object-Spatial Imagery and Verbal Questionnaire (OSIVQ), Betts' Questionnaire Upon Mental Imagery (Betts' QMI), and the Measure of Ability to Form Spatial Mental Imagery (MASMI). Internal consistency reliability for both was high, with the VVIQ–RV having a Cronbach's alpha of .96, and the VVIQ–2 an alpha of .91. The construct validity of the VVIQ–RV and the VVIQ–2 was supported by the high correlations they had with the other three measures of imagery, which were all close to .50, and the very small correlations (.06–.07) they had with the Verbal scale of the OSIVQ, indicating that they validly measured the imagery construct. Thus, the findings support the two versions as equally valid psychometric instruments for measuring image vividness.