Aphantasia Study

Task Instructions

This is a multi-part experiment to learn about the vividness of your mental images.
It will take approximately 30 minutes and you will get feedback at the end.

This experiment works for users of Google Chrome, Safari, and Firefox (we do not support Internet Explorer). If possible, please use a desktop computer, laptop, or tablet with a mouse for this task.

Before beginning, make sure that you read through and agree to our Acknowledgement of Participation.

Please click below if you have read the above information and are willing to act as a participant in the research study.

Finally, there are two questionnaires we'd like you to fill out:

Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire

For each item on this questionnaire, try to form a visual image, and consider your experience carefully. For any image that you do experience, rate how vivid it is using the five-point scale described below. If you do not have a visual image, rate vividness as '1'. Only use '5' for images that are truly as lively and vivid as real seeing. Please note that there are no right or wrong answers to the questions, and that it is not necessarily desirable to experience imagery or, if you do, to have more vivid imagery.

      No image at all, you only "know" that you are thinking of the object
      Vague and dim
      Moderately clear and lively
      Clear and reasonably vivid
      Perfectly clear and vivid as real seeing

1
2
3
4
5

For items 1-4, think of some relative or friend whom you frequently see (but who is not with you at present) and consider carefully the picture that comes before your mind's eye.

1. The exact contour of face, head, shoulders and body
2. Characteristic poses of head, attitudes of body etc.
3. The precise carriage, length of step etc., in walking
4. The different colours worn in some familiar clothes

1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5

Visualise a rising sun. Consider carefully the picture that comes before your mind's eye.

5. The sun rising above the horizon into a hazy sky
6. The sky clears and surrounds the sun with blueness
7. Clouds. A storm blows up with flashes of lightning
8. A rainbow appears

1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5

Think of the front of a shop which you often go to. Consider the picture that comes before your mind's eye.

9. The overall appearance of the shop from the opposite side of the road
10. A window display including colours, shapes and details of individual items for sale
11. You are near the entrance. The colour, shape and details of the door
12. You enter the shop and go to the counter. The counter assistant serves you. Money changes hands

1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5

Finally think of a country scene which involves trees, mountains and a lake. Consider the picture that comes before your mind's eye.

13. The contours of the landscape
14. The colour and shape of the trees
15. the colour and shape of the lake
16. A strong wind blows on the trees and on the lake causing waves in the water.

1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5

Here is the final set of questions:

Object-spatial imagery questionnaire (OSIQ)

Please answer the following questions on a scale of 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree).

1. I was very good in 3-D geometry as a student.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

2. If I were asked to choose between engineering professions and visual arts, I would prefer engineering.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

3. Architecture interests me more than painting.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

4. My images are very colourful and bright.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

5. I prefer schematic diagrams and sketches when reading a textbook instead of colourful and pictorial illustrations.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

6. My images are more like schematic representations of things and events rather than detailed pictures.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

7. When reading fiction, I usually form a clear and detailed mental picture of a scene or room that has been described.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

8. I have a photographic memory.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

9. I can easily imagine and mentally rotate 3-dimensional geometric figures.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

10. When entering a familiar store to get a specific item, I can easily picture the exact location of the target item, the shelf it stands on, how it is arranged and the surrounding articles.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

11. I normally do not experience many spontaneous vivid images; I use my mental imagery mostly when attempting to solve some problems like the ones in mathematics.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

12. My images are very vivid and photographic.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

13. I can easily sketch a blueprint for a building that I am familiar with.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

14. I am a good Tetris player.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

15. If I were asked to choose between studying architecture and visual arts, I would choose visual arts.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

16. My mental images of different objects very much resemble the size, shape and colour of actual objects that I have seen.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

17. When I imagine the face of a friend, I have a perfectly clear and bright image.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

18. I have excellent abilities in technical graphics.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

19. I can easily remember a great deal of visual details that someone else might never notice. For example, I would just automatically take some things in, like what colour shirt someone wears or what colour are his/her shoes.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

20. In high school, I had less difficulty with geometry than with art.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

21. I enjoy pictures with bright colours and unusual shapes like the ones in modern art.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

22. Sometimes my images are so vivid and persistent that it is difficult to ignore them.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

23. When thinking about an abstract concept (e.g. 'a building') I imagine an abstract schematic building in my mind or its blueprint rather than a specific concrete building.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

24. My images are more schematic than colourful and pictorial.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

25. I can close my eyes and easily picture a scene that I have experienced.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

26. I remember everything visually. I can recount what people wore to a dinner and I can talk about the way they sat and the way they looked probably in more detail than I could discuss what they said.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

27. I find it difficult to imagine how a 3-dimensional geometric figure would exactly look like when rotated.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

28. My visual images are in my head all the time. They are just right there.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

29. My graphic abilities would make a career in architecture relatively easy for me.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

30. When I hear a radio announcer or a DJ I've never actually seen, I usually find myself picturing what he or she might look like.
Totally disagree 1 2 3 4 5    Totally agree

Finally, please also provide the following information:

What was the hardest part of the experiment?

Why was this the hardest part, and how did you do the task?

Age:

Gender:    Female       Male       Other/No response

Occupation:

What type of device are you using?
Desktop Computer       Laptop       Tablet       Smartphone

Which are you using right now?
Mouse       Trackpad       Joystick       Keyboard nub       Finger       Stylus

How would you rate your artistic abilities?
Very poor 1 2 3 4 5    Very good

Please briefly list any experience you have with artistic training (e.g., art classes). Write N/A if none.

Please press SUBMIT when you are done.

Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire

Object-spatial imagery questionnaire (OSIQ)

Press this button when you are finished with the task (or if you would like to discontinue):