Chapter 11: Visual Knowledge

Some people seem to lack the capacity for visualization, a pattern that was documented more than a century ago but recently termed ____.

Aphantasia.

As discussed in your textbook, a number of questions remain regarding knowledge and memory. Which of these questions can be addressed based on research conducted to this point and which require further research?

Can Adress: Do primacy and recency effects occur for visual materials like they do for verbal materials? Does activation spread amongst nonverbal materials?

These are examples of participants describing their visual imagery of a snake. Which of these self-reports are consistent with the self-report data that Francis Galton obtained in the late 1800s concerning visual imagery?

Consistent: "If I look from the side, it looks small, but from above I see that it's curled up into a dense coil, so it is actually very long." "I can think about snakes, but I can't see it." "It has red, yellow, and black stripes."

How do we know that data obtained from image-scanning procedures and mental rotation tasks are not a consequence of the demand character of the experiment?

Data is consistent when experiments don't mention that imagery may be relevant to the task.

Pictures are ___ in that they represent key aspects of the three-dimensional layout of the world. They are ___.

Depictions Ambiguous

André has eidetic imagery. What is likely true of André?

If given a copy of a poem in a language that he doesn't know, he will be able to recall it exactly. He could accurately describe himself as having a "photographic memory."

Match each type of task to the conclusion that we can draw from the data obtained from it.

Participants scan across images at a constant rate = mage-scanning procedure & chronometric studies. As the mode of representation changes—imagery versus descriptive—so does the pattern of information availability = chronometric studies. Participants can imagine 3D rotations as easily as 2D rotations = chronometric studies & mental-rotation task

Which of these statements is true about the differences between "vivid imagers" and "non-imagers"?

People with vivid imagery perform better on non-imagers on tasks requiring them to make a judgement about the appearance of imagined objects.

Identify each statement as a characteristic of sighted individuals and/or individuals who have been blind since birth. (A statement may have more than one match.)

use spatial imagery = blind individuals/sighted individuals response times in image-scanning procedures are proportional to "distance" traveled in the image = blind individuals/sighted individuals response times in mental-rotation tasks are proportional to the amount of "rotation" needed = blind individuals/sighted individuals use visual imagery -= sighted imagery.

Once they have formed the mental image, he asks them to reinterpret it: Can they switch between the "two people looking at each other" interpretation and the "vase" interpretation when viewing it? What percentage of his participants will succeed in reinterpreting their images?

0%

To rule out the possibility that his participants simply didn't understand the task, Dr. Necker asks them to draw their mental image of the ambiguous figure on a blank piece of paper. Once they have drawn their mental image, he again asks them to reinterpret it: Can they switch between the "two people looking at each other" interpretation and the "vase" interpretation when viewing it? What percentage of his participants will succeed in reinterpreting their images?

100%

The students enrolled in Professor Laurain's French class are studying for a vocabulary quiz tomorrow on food and dining terms. Based on the strategy that each student is employing, who is likely to earn the highest grade? The lowest grade?

Akheel is repeating the vocabulary words and their definitions to himself over and over until he is confident that he remembers them = lowest grade. Monet is pairing the vocabular terms and then forming a mental image of the pair interacting in some way = highest grade.

What do we learn about visual imagery processes from mental rotation tasks?

Correct Answer(s) Mental images may be more like "mental sculptures" than pictures. Participants imagine one of the forms rotating until its position is aligned with the other form.

Some research suggests that visualization can provide pain relief. Which of these mechanisms or factors have been proposed for explaining when visualization seems to help?

Correct Answer(s) Provides a distraction. Facilitates relaxation. Placebo effect.

For what purposes do people use visual images?

Correct Answer(s) to describe their thoughts to help them remember to solve problems to make decisions

What evidence do we have that suggests that visual imagery is distinct from spatial imagery?

Correct: Damage to visual areas (e.g., Area V1) does not impair spatial imagery performance. People who have been blind since birth complete image-scanning and mental-rotation tasks just like people who can see.

Maxx has neglect syndrome owing to damage in his right parietal lobe. He's on his way to meet a woman with whom his friend set him up. Which of these situations will likely arise during or after the date?

Correct: He won't remember that she went to Ireland as part of a study abroad program in college. If she sits across the table from him, he won't notice the tattoo that she has on her right arm (his left).

In one study, participants self-reported how vivid their imagery was, rating specific images on a scale from 1 ("perfectly clear and vivid as normal vision") to 5 ("no image; you just know you are thinking of the object"). They were then instructed to visualize a particular scene while in an fMRI scanner for 10 seconds. The results of the study are illustrated in this graph:

Correct: The results provide evidence of genuine differences in reported vividness across individuals.

Percepts are ____; they are your mental representations of the stimuli that you're perceiving. They are ____.

Depictions Unambiguous

Images in working memory are ___ other types of representations in working memory in terms of the information that they contain and the set of operations they require.

Different than

Identify each statement about the relationship between imagery and memory as true or false.

Imagery is generally only helpful for remembering visual materials = false. Imagery mnemonics are only helpful if they show the to-be-remembered objects interacting = true. Imagery mnemonics lead to boundary extensions = true. Imagery mnemonics provide an opportunity for dual coding of the to-be-remembered information = false.

Fill in the blanks to complete the passage about imagery.

Images in working memory are DIFFERNT THAN other types of representations in working memory in terms of the information that they contain and the set of operations they require. Images in long-term memory are stored in THE SAME memory system as other memories and are influenced by THE SAME set of principles.

Images seem to be stored in memory in a piece-by-piece fashion: Imagers first create an image frame and then add details. How do we know this? Fill in the blanks to complete the statements regarding the evidence supporting this claim.

Images that have more parts take longer to create. Images that have more parts are more difficult to maintain. Images that have fewer details take less time to create. Imagers can control how complete and detailed their images will be.

What can we conclude about visual imagery from the self-report data collected by Francis Galton in the late 19th century?

It may be that people do not differ in the imagery itself but in how they talk about it.

Identify each of these described individuals as most likely "with imagery" or "without imagery."

Jenny often feels like she can go back in time and "relive" memories, recalling them in a lot of detail = with imagery. Pete has been a successful artist and animator for 15 years = with imagery. Ellie recently graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering = without imagery. Rodney has been described as dramatic by some, but he argues that he just feels things very strongly = with imagery.

Imagery researchers usually ask participants to do something with their images. The researchers then time their participants to determine how long it takes them to complete the task. These researchers are thus designing chronometric studies.

No errors

Researchers have developed technology for "decoding" patterns of brain activation during visualization so that they can figure out what a participant is imagining. Place the steps of this decoding process in order from first to last.

Record the participants brain activity while they view various pictures. Record the participants brain activates white they visualize an image. Compare the activation patterns between visualization and seeing.

Tamara and Rovi are participating in a research study. The experimenter asks Tamara to picture a giraffe standing next to a parakeet and Rovi to picture a parakeet standing next to an ant. The experimenter asks Tamara and Rovi each the same question: "Does the parakeet have feathers?" Who answers the question the fastest: Tamara or Rovi?

Rovi

Images in long-term memory are stored in ___ memory system as other memories and are influenced by ___ set of principles.

The same The Same

Identify each of these statements about performance on mental-folding tasks as true or false.

True: Mental folding relies heavily on the left and right hemispheres. Gender differences in spatial tasks are partly a consequence of different experiences.

Identify these statements about visual memory as true or false.

True: People with large color vocabularies have better color memories. To form a mental image, you first activate nodes to specify the "image frame."

Identify these statements about the relationship between imagery and perception as true or false.

True: Visual perception and imagery both rely heavily on the occipital cortex. Researchers can figure out what participants are imagining based on neural activation patterns.

Which mental image will take less time to generate: an image of "four rows of dots" or "three columns of dots"?

"Three columns of dots."

Indicate whether answering each question depends on visual imagery, spatial imagery, or either.

Your roommate shouts to you from the other room, "Ugh, I just got a small stain on my cable-knit sweater. Think anyone will be able to see it?" = visual imagery. "Would this quilt match the color of our sheets at home?" = visual imagery. "I'm coming from the other side of town. How do I get to your apartment from here?" = spatial imagery. "Picture your home. Imagine walking from the kitchen to the bedroom. About how far away is it?" = either. While shopping in a furniture store, your roommate asks you, "If I were to move the couch to the other side of the living room, would it block the door to the kitchen?" = either.

In one study, participants were shown pictures of different scenes, like a typical bathroom. Later, participants took a recognition test in which they had to choose between pictures they'd actually seen and altered versions of these pictures. The following targets describe bathroom photos that could be shown at the test. Which photos would participants most likely—correctly or incorrectly—identify as "old" (one they had seen before) and which as "new"?

a photo with a different color of towel than the original photo = old. a photo with a bike rack that wasn't in the original photo = new. a photo without the guitar that was in the original photo = new. a photo with a different clock than the original photo = old.

A mental image, a percept, and a picture of the same stimulus will be similar in some ways and different in others. Identify the characteristics that are true of each concept. (Some of the concepts will, of course, share characteristics.)

organized = mental images & percepts. last = percepts. depictions of the stimulus = mental images & percepts & pictures. has one interpretation = mental images. has multiple interpretations = pictures.