Object Imagery

Object imagery is mentally picturing a thing itself: its shape, colour, texture. Some find single objects harder to imagine than scenes or layouts.

Object Imagery

Object imagery is mentally picturing a thing itself: its shape, colour, texture. Some find single objects harder to imagine than scenes or layouts.

Video

When Mental Images Get in the Way: How Aphantasia Reveals a Hidden Advantage in Reasoning

New research from the University of Lyon suggests that people with aphantasia may actually reason faster on certain logic problems—a finding that challenges the long-held assumption that mental imagery helps us think.

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Reference

State but not trait measures of vividness relate to memory accuracy

Trial-by-trial mental imagery vividness significantly predicts memory accuracy for both visual and spatial changes across age groups. This suggests that while imagery influences episodic memory, it is not the sole mechanism driving performance.

Duckett, W., & Simons, J. S. (2026). State but not trait measures of vividness relate to memory accuracy. Neuropsychologia, 224, 109399. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109399

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Video

Pictures Without Mental Pictures: How Aphantasia Is Rewriting a 50-Year-Old Theory of Memory

New research from Wilma Bainbridge and her team at the University of Chicago reveals that people with aphantasia still remember pictures better than words—a finding that upends one of psychology's most influential theories about how memory works.

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Reference

Varieties of aphantasia

Aphantasia is a heterogeneous condition with distinct subtypes, including variations in voluntary control and sensory modalities. Recognizing these differences is essential for developing accurate experimental methodologies and explanations.

Nanay, B. (2025). Varieties of aphantasia. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 29(11), 965–966. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2025.06.008

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Video

When Memory Feels Vivid: Why the Moment Matters More Than the Trait

For years, researchers asked how vivid people's mental images are in general. William Duckett asked a different question—and discovered something that's reshaping how we understand imagery and memory.

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Reference

Why indecisive trials matter: Improving the binocular rivalry imagery priming score for the assessment of aphantasia

Researchers developed an improved binocular rivalry priming score that accounts for mixed trials and perceptual stability. This provides a more accurate behavioral measure for identifying aphantasia and validating self-reported imagery.

Monzel, M., Scholz, C. O., Pearson, J., & Reuter, M. (2025). Why indecisive trials matter: improving the binocular rivalry imagery priming score for the assessment of aphantasia. Behavior Research Methods, 57(9). doi:10.3758/s13428-025-02780-6

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Video

The Shape of Things Unseen: Conversation with Dr. Adam Zeman On The New Science of Imagination

What if everything you thought you knew about creativity was wrong? The scientist who discovered aphantasia unveils the "new science of imagination" and explains why visualization might not be essential to human creativity.

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Discussion

Which characteristics are due to aphantasia?

recentlyMick

What traits do you think stem from limited mental imagery versus natural skill differences? Join the conversation!

Video

Quantifying Aphantasia Through Drawing

Wilma Bainbridge shares insight into how we can use drawings to uncover what's inside the memory of people with aphantasia in this presentation from the 2021 Extreme Imagination Conference.

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Article

Aphantasia Explained: Some People Can’t Form Mental Pictures

How do you draw from memory if you can't form mental pictures? Evidently, you don’t need to “see” with the mind’s eye to carry-out these tasks.

recentlyby Dr Zoë Pounder

Reference

Attention driven phantom vision: measuring the sensory strength of attentional templates and their relation to visual mental imagery and aphantasia

People with aphantasia cannot form attentional templates but retain feature-based attention for physical stimuli. This suggests that visual imagery and preparatory attention share the same underlying neural mechanisms.

Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2021). Attention driven phantom vision: measuring the sensory strength of attentional templates and their relation to visual mental imagery and aphantasia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 376(1817), 20190688. doi:10.1098/rstb.2019.0688

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Reference

Quantifying aphantasia through drawing: Those without visual imagery show deficits in object but not spatial memory

Aphantasics recalled fewer objects and less visual detail in memory drawings but maintained high spatial accuracy for object locations. This suggests that object and spatial memory are supported by distinct cognitive systems.

Bainbridge, W. A., Pounder, Z., Eardley, A. F., & Baker, C. I. (2021). Quantifying aphantasia through drawing: those without visual imagery show deficits in object but not spatial memory. Cortex, 135, 159–172. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2020.11.014

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Article

Mental Rotation Tasks: The Surprising Advantage of Aphantasia

Discover how people with aphantasia excel at mental rotation despite having no visual imagery. Complete these mental rotation tasks and explore the fascinating cognitive differences.

recentlyby Aphantasia Network and

Reference

The Nature, Measurement, and Development of Imagery Ability

Mental imagery is a multidimensional process involving image generation, inspection, transformation, and maintenance. Understanding these distinct components allows for more precise measurement and application of imagery in sport and health settings.

Cumming, J., & Eaves, D. L. (2018). The nature, measurement, and development of imagery ability. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 37(4), 375–393. doi:DOI: 10.1177/0276236617752439

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