PSYCH 2H03 Chapter Notes - Chapter 11: Mental Image, Visual Memory, Binocular Rivalry
19 Jun 2018
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PSYCH 2H03 Chapter 11
Visual Knowledge
VISUAL IMAGERY
-People claim, their thoughts involve a sequence of pictures or sounds or other sensory impressions
-We have visual knowledge and visual thoughts
The Mind’s Eye
-Use your ‘mind’s eye’ in order to answer many practical questions in life
oThere’s a basis for making decisions, an aid to remembering
-It can’t be taken literally
Introspections about Images
-Francis Galton – 1800s
oExplored nature of visual imagery
oAsked to describe their images and rate them for vividness – to introspect or “look within” and report the
mental contents
oSelf-report data participants reported they could ‘inspect’ images much as they would inspect a
picture
oSelf-reports differed a lot – in nature of imagery – some people are ‘visualizers and others aren’t
oInvites idea that people might be incapable of forming visual images
-“Translation step” whenever people translate their subjective inner experience into a verbal report – no
guarantee that everyone translates in the same way
-Galton – possible that every participant had the same imagery skill but varied in how they experienced
-Galton differences in how people talked about their imagery not differences in imagery per se
Chronometric Studies Of Imagery
-Imagery experiments usually don’t have participants describe their images – gain more objective data – people do
something with the images
-Chronometric studies – ask what sorts of information are prominent in a mental image and what sorts aren’t
Mental images as “Picture-like”
-Use these studies as a basis for asking how ‘picture like’ mental images really are
-Asked to write a paragraph on a cat – include features – but wouldn’t include the fact they have a head
oContrast to if you were to draw a picture of a cat – the head would be prominent
-Pattern of what information is included as well as what is prominent depends on mode of presentation
oDescription: features are prominent, distinctive
oDepiction: size and position determines prominence
-Kosslyn (1976)
oMental image: Information quickly available in the images followed for the rules for pictures, not
paragraphs – if they have heads
oThink about cats – no imagery: quick for claws not for heads
-Fictional map
oMemorize the map – asking to draw a replica from memory – point their mind’s eye at a specific
landmark
oAsking to scan from one landmark to another
oImage-scanning procedure – participants scan across their images at a constant rate, so that doubling the
‘distance’ doubles time required for the scan
Depictions Vs. Descriptions
-Zoom in or scan – ask for a similarity between mental images and actual out-in-the-world pictures
-Images represent a scene in a fashion that preserves all of the distance relationships within the scene
-The image preserves the spatial layout of the scene and therefore directly represents the geometry of the scene
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Document Summary
People claim, their thoughts involve a sequence of pictures or sounds or other sensory impressions. We have visual knowledge and visual thoughts. Use your mind"s eye" in order to answer many practical questions in life: there"s a basis for making decisions, an aid to remembering. Translation step (cid:0) guarantee that everyone translates in the same way whenever people translate their subjective inner experience into a verbal report no. Galton possible that every participant had the same imagery skill but varied in how they experienced. Galton (cid:0) differences in how people talked about their imagery not differences in imagery per se. Imagery experiments usually don"t have participants describe their images gain more objective data people do something with the images. Chronometric studies ask what sorts of information are prominent in a mental image and what sorts aren"t. Use these studies as a basis for asking how picture like" mental images really are.
