PSYC 2650 Chapter Notes - Chapter 11: Visual Acuity, Mental Rotation, Visual Cortex
Document Summary
When remembering the image of something you call a picture of it to your mind. Visual images are used as a basis for making decisions and as an aid to remembering. Galton asked his research participants to introspect (look within) and report on their own mental contest. The self-report data he obtained fit well with common sense: that participants reported that they could inspect their images much as they would inspect a picture. They could read off from the image details of colour and texture. All of this implies a mode of representation that is picture-like. Participants also differed widely from each other - many described images of photographic clarity, rich in detail as if they were seeing the image, other participants reported very sketchy images or none at all. Chronometric (time-measuring) studies give us a more accurate portrait of mental imagery than self-report data.