Spontaneous Use of Imagery Scale (SUIS)

The Spontaneous Use of Imagery Scale (SUIS) is used to measure the tendency to use visual mental imagery in daily life.

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How do you use visual imagery in daily life?

The Spontaneous Use of Imagery Scale (SUIS) is used to measure the tendency to use visual mental imagery in daily life.

Instructions:

Please read each of the following descriptions and indicate the degree to which each is appropriate for you. Do not spend a lot of time thinking about each one, but respond based on your thoughts about how you do or do not perform each activity. If a description is always completely appropriate, please write “5”; if it is never appropriate, write “1”; if it is appropriate about half of the time, write “3”; and use the other numbers accordingly.

When going to a new place, I prefer directions that include detailed descriptions of landmarks (such as the size, shape and color of a gas station) in addition to their names.

If I catch a glance of a car that is partially hidden behind bushes, I automatically “complete it,” seeing the entire car in my mind’s eye.

If I am looking for new furniture in a store, I always visualize what the furniture would look like in particular places in my home.

I prefer to read novels that lead me easily to visualize where the characters are and what they are doing instead of novels that are difficult to visualize.

When I think about visiting a relative, I almost always have a clear mental picture of him or her.

If someone were to tell me two-digit numbers to add (e.g., 24 and 31), I would visualize them in order to add them.

When relatively easy technical material is described clearly in a text, I find illustrations distracting because they interfere with my ability to visualize the material.

Before I get dressed to go out, I first visualize what I will look like if I wear different combinations of clothes.

When I think about a series of errands I must do, I visualize the stores I will visit.

When I first hear a friend’s voice, a visual image of him or her almost always springs to mind.

When I hear a radio announcer or DJ I’ve never actually seen, I usually find myself picturing what they might look like.

If I saw a car accident, I would visualize what had happened when later trying to recall the details.

Spontaneous Use of Imagery Scale (SUIS)