chapter 10

Kosslyn (1973) - See Figure 10.2 • Task: boat experiment

• Memorize picture, create an image of it • In image, move from one part of the picture to another

using imagery to improve memory: -method of loci

placing images at locations visualizing items to be remembered in different locations in a mental image of a spatial layout

using imagery to improve memory: -pegworm technique

-associate items to be remembered w/ concrete words -pair each of these things w/ a pegword -create a vivid image of things to be remembered with the object represented by the word

Comparing Imagery and Perception experiment big vs little • Relationship between viewing distance and ability to perceive details See Figures 10.8 & 10.9 - Kosslyn (1978) found that....

-imagine small animal next to large animal -quicker to detect details on the larger animal cuz its closer

• Mental-walk task

-mentally imagine walking towards something -we move closer to smaller animals than to larger animals -images are spatial, like perception

LeBihan et al. (1993) - See Figure 10.13 fMRI in terms of brain activity

-overlap in brain activity -visual cortex presentation & imagining a stimulus both increase activity

What did the cognitive revolution develop for imagery?

Developed ways to measure behavior that could be used to infer cognitive processes & paired-associate learning

Paivio (1963, 1965) RESULTS

Memory for words that evoke mental images is better than those that do not Came up w/: • Conceptual-peg hypothesis

Finke and Pinker (1982) dot experiment • Task: • Result:

Participants judge whether arrow points to dots previously seen -not instructed to use visual imagery -no time to memorize dots, no tacit knowledge

How is visual imagery useful?

Provides a way of thinking that adds another dimension to purely verbal techniques

Imagery and Perception both have a

Spatial correspondence

Kosslyn et al. (1978) - See Figure 10.4 island experiment • Task:

Study figure of island with 7 locations, 21 trips & mentally travel through it

Paivio (1963, 1965) -Conceptual-peg hypothesis

concrete objects/nouns can help w/ memory ex: if presenting boat-hat creates an image of a boat, then presenting the word boat later will bring back the boat image, which then provides a number of places on which subjects can place the hat in their mind

Imagery and Perception both have Differences in

experience

Mental imagery:

experiencing a sensory impression in the absence of sensory input

What was an early idea about imagery?

imageless-thought debate

Unilateral neglect:

patient ignores objects in one half of visual field of perception and imagery

Visual imagery:

seeing in the absence of a visual stimulus

Perception is automatic and...

stable

What did Alan Paivlo show in terms of memory?

Alan Paivlo showed it was easier to remember concrete nouns, like truck or tree, that can be imaged, than it is to remember abstract nouns, like truth or justice, that are difficult to image.

Chalmers and Reisberg (1985) create mental image experiment • Task

Had participants create mental images of ambiguous figures

what is the imageless-thought debate?

The debate about whether imagery is based on spatial mechanisms, such as those involved in perception, or on propositional mechanisms that are related to language

As described in your text, the pegword technique relies on all of the following EXCEPT: a. rhymes. b. associations. c. propositions. d. visualizations.

c. propositions.

mental scanning

a task in which subjects create mental images and then scan them in their minds We act as if our mental images are physical entities task was done by Stephen Kosslyn to show the spatial correspondance between images and perception

Perky's experiment, in which participants were asked to "project" visual images of common objects onto a screen, showed that: a. imagery and perception can interact with one another. b. imagery and perception are two different phenomena. c. creating a visual image can interfere with a perceptual judgment task. d. there are large individual differences in people's ability to create visual images.

a. imagery and perception can interact with one another.

Which of the following has been used as an argument AGAINST the idea that imagery is spatial in nature? a. Depictive representations b. The tacit-knowledge explanation c. None of these (they all support the idea that imagery is spatial). d. The results of scanning experiments

b. The tacit-knowledge explanation

In explaining the paradox that imagery and perception exhibit a double dissociation, Behrmann and coworkers suggested that perception necessarily involves ________ processing and imagery starts as a ________ process. a. top-down; bottom-up b. bottom-up; top-down c. bottom-up; bottom-up d. top-down; top-down

b. bottom-up; top-down

Ira and his sister are playing "Name that Tune," the object of which is to name the title of the song when given the song's first line. Ira suggests the line "Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?" His sister can't come up with the answer at first, but realizing that the title is often embedded in the lyrics, she tries to sing them silently to herself. She then bursts out "Ah! It's 'Winter Wonderland'!" It is most likely that Ira's sister used ________ in playing the game. a. visual imagery b. inner audition c. mental chronometry d. mental synthesis

b. inner audition

using imagery to improve memory: -visualizing interacting images

bizarreness not necessary

"Early" researchers of imagery (beginning with Aristotle until just prior to the dominance of behaviorism) proposed all of the following ideas EXCEPT: a. images are one of the three basic elements of consciousness. b. imagery is not required for thinking. c. imagery requires a special mechanism. d. thought is impossible without an image.

c. imagery requires a special mechanism.

However, these neurons are....

category specific. *respond to perception of a baseball but not a face *respond to imaging a baseball but not imaging a face

A circular plate rests at the center of a small square table. Around the table are a total of four chairs, one along each side of the square table. A person with unilateral neglect sits down in one of the chairs and eats from the plate. After he is "finished," he moves to the next chair on his right and continues to eat from the plate. Assuming he never moves the plate and he continues with this procedure (moving one chair to the right and eating) how many chairs will he have to sit in to eat all the food on the plate? a. 2 b. 1 c. 4 d. 3

d. 3

Kosslyn's island experiment used the ________ procedure. a. categorization b. priming c. mental walk d. mental scanning

d. mental scanning

The mental simulation approach for solving mechanical problems is analogous to the idea that visual imagery involves ________ representations. a. verbal b. symbolic c. propositional d. spatial

d. spatial

Shepard and Metzler's "image rotation" experiment was so influential and important to the study of cognition because it demonstrated: a. how easy mental rotation is for humans. b. that humans cannot successfully rotate mental images beyond 90 degrees. c. that humans can only perform mental rotation on "real-world" objects. d. that imagery and perception may share the same mechanisms.

d. that imagery and perception may share the same mechanisms.

Shepard and Meltzer (1971) shape experiment used Mental chronometry which is... See Figure 10.1

determining the amount of time needed to carry out various cognitive tasks

Chalmers and Reisberg (1985) create mental image experiment • Result:

difficult to flip from one perception to another while holding a mental image of it

Imagery takes effort and...

is fragile

Is Imagery Spatial or Propositional? Pylyshyn (1973) said that just because we experience imagery as spatial, doesn't mean the underlying representation is spatial. proposed that: • Spatial representation is an epiphenomenon meaning that....

it accompanies real mechanism but is not actually a part of it

• Proposed that imagery is propositional meaning that... See Figure 10.5

it can be represented by abstract symbols, such as an equation or statement like: "The cat is under the table"

Kosslyn (1973) - See Figure 10.2 boat experiment • Result:

it takes longer for ps to mentally move long distances than shorter distances

Kosslyn et al. (1978) - See Figure 10.4 island experiment • Results:

it took longer to scan between greater distances

epiphenomenon example

lights flashing as a mainframe computer carries out its calculations. The lights indicate that something is going on in the computer, but it doesn't necessarily tell us what. mental images are similiar - they indicate that something is happening in the mind but they dont tell us how its happening

Kosslyn (1973) - See Figure 10.2 boat experiment • Implication:

line perception *imagery is spatial

Finke and Pinker (1982) dot experiment • Result:

longer reaction time when there is a greater distance between the arrow and dot (as if they were mentally "traveling")

Lea (1975) stated that...

more distractors when scanning longer distances may have increased reaction time

• Imagery neurons respond to both ___________ and ___________ an object See Figure 10.12

perceiving and imaging.

Kosslyn interpreted the results of his research on imagery (such as the island experiment) as supporting the idea that the mechanism responsible for imagery involves ___________________ representations

spatial

Paivio (1963,1965) paired-associate learning experiment TASK

subjects are presented w/ pairs of words, like boat-hat or car-house. Then they are tested w/ the first word from each pair.

Pylyshyn (2003) said that Kosslyn's results in terms of scanning time increasing as the distance between two points on an image increases can be explained by

using real-world knowledge unconsciously in making their judgements (tacit-knowledge explanation)

Kosslyn et al. (1978) - See Figure 10.4 island experiment • Implication:

visual imagery is spatial -strong correlation w/ distances also

Shepard and Meltzer (1971) shape experiment TASK • Mental chronometry See Figure 10.1

• Participants saw 2 shapes and mentally rotated one object to see if it matched another object

• Imagery debate

• Proposition representation: symbols, language • Spatial representation: pictures