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Imagine, and you will find – Lack of attentional guidance through visual imagery in aphantasics

DOI: 10.3758/s13414-021-02307-z
Monzel, M., Keidel, K., & Reuter, M. (2021). Imagine, and you will find – lack of attentional guidance through visual imagery in aphantasics. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 83(6), 2486–2497. doi:10.3758/s13414-021-02307-z

Abstract

Aphantasia is the condition of reduced or absent voluntary imagery. So far, behavioural differences between aphantasics and non-aphantasics have hardly been studied as the base rate of those affected is quite low. The aim of the study was to examine if attentional guidance in aphantasics is impaired by their lack of visual imagery. In two visual search tasks, an already established one by Moriya (Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 80(5), 1127-1142, 2018) and a newly developed one, we examined whether aphantasics are primed less by their visual imagery than non-aphantasics. The sample in Study 1 consisted of 531 and the sample in Study 2 consisted of 325 age-matched pairs of aphantasics and non-aphantasics. Moriya’s Task was not capable of showing the expected effect, whereas the new developed task was. These results could mainly be attributed to different task characteristics. Therefore, a lack of attentional guidance through visual imagery in aphantasics can be assumed and interpreted as new evidence in the imagery debate, showing that mental images actually influence information processing and are not merely epiphenomena of propositional processing.

Authors

  • Merlin Monzel30
  • Kristof Keidel2
  • Martin Reuter16

What This Study Is About

Researchers wanted to know if having a "blind mind’s eye" changes how you find things in the real world. They tested whether people with aphantasia are slower at finding objects because they can't use a mental picture to "prime" their brain for what to look for.

How They Studied It

The researchers conducted two large online studies. In the main part of the research, they compared 325 people with aphantasia to 325 people who can visualize normally.
Participants performed a "visual search" task on their computers. They were shown a word (like "banana") and told to imagine it. Then, they had to quickly pick the correct item from two choices on the screen. Sometimes the choices were words, and sometimes they were actual pictures.

What They Found

The study discovered a clear difference in how the two groups process information:
  • The "Imagery Boost": People who can visualize were significantly faster at picking out the correct picture after imagining it. It’s as if their brain "pre-loaded" the image, making it pop out faster.
  • The Aphantasic Experience: People with aphantasia did not get this speed boost. Because they couldn't create that mental "search flyer," they had to rely on non-visual strategies, which took a fraction of a second longer.
  • The Word Level: Interestingly, when the task involved picking between two words instead of pictures, both groups performed about the same.

What This Might Mean

This suggests that mental imagery—the ability to picture things in your mind—isn't just a "bonus" feature of the human brain; it actually helps guide our attention. For people with aphantasia, the brain has to find "workarounds" to navigate the world without these internal visual cues.
However, we should be careful: this study relied on people reporting their own aphantasia (self-diagnosis), which isn't always 100% accurate. Also, the time difference was measured in milliseconds, so while it's scientifically important, it doesn't mean aphantasics are "slow" in everyday life!

One Interesting Detail

Even though the aphantasic group was slightly slower at the picture task, they were just as accurate as everyone else. They might not have an internal "preview" of the world, but they are just as good at identifying what’s in front of them!
This summary was generated by AI and may contain errors. Always refer to the original paper for accuracy.