The Multilevel Modality-Switch Effect: What Happens When We See the Bees Buzzing and Hear the Diamonds Glistening

Previous studies demonstrated that the sequential verification of different sensory modality properties for concepts (e.g., BLENDER-loud; BANANA-yellow) brings about a processing cost, known as the modality-switch effect. We report an experiment designed to assess the influence of the mode of presentation (i.e., visual, aural) of stimuli on the modality-switch effect in a property verification and lexical decision priming paradigm. Participants were required to perform a property verification or a lexical decision task on a target sentence (e.g., “a BEE buzzes”, “a DIAMOND glistens”) presented either visually or aurally after having been presented with a prime sentence (e.g., “the LIGHT is flickering”, “the SOUND is echoing”) that could either share both, one or none of the target’s mode of presentation and content modality. Results show that the mode of presentation of stimuli affects the conceptual modality-switch effect. Furthermore, the depth of processing required by the task modulates the complex interplay of perceptual and semantic information. We conclude that the MSE is a task-related, multilevel effect which can occur on two different levels of information processing (i.e., perceptual and semantic).     

The Role of Vividness of Visual Mental Imagery on Different Dimensions of Creativity

Although research demonstrated that people can mentally manipulate and synthesize visual elements into a creative object, the role that vividness of visual imagery plays on creative imagery is still unclear. This study explored the relationships between vividness of visual imagery and 3 dimensions of creative imagery: originality, practicality, and mental spatial transformations of visual elements. Fifty-three participants performed the creative mental synthesis task and completed the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ). Results revealed a positive relationship between vividness and the practicality dimension of objects. No relationship was found either between vividness and originality or between vividness and transformational complexity. The association vividness–practicality seems to reflect the ability to use pictorial information of imagery when people generate functional objects that belong to specific categories. Future research directions are discussed.     

Perceptual processing affects conceptual processing

According to the Perceptual Symbols Theory of cognition ( Barsalou, 1999 ), modality-specific simulations underlie the representation of concepts. A strong prediction of this view is that perceptual processing affects conceptual processing. In this study, participants performed a perceptual detection task and a conceptual property-verification task in alternation. Responses on the property-verification task were slower for those trials that were preceded by a perceptual trial in a different modality than for those that were preceded by a perceptual trial in the same modality. This finding of a modality-switch effect across perceptual processing and conceptual processing supports the hypothesis that perceptual and conceptual representations are partially based on the same systems.     

Assessing vividness of mental imagery: The Plymouth Sensory Imagery Questionnaire

Mental imagery may occur in any sensory modality, although visual imagery has been most studied. A sensitive measure of the vividness of imagery across a range of modalities is needed: the shorter version of Bett's Questionnaire upon Mental Imagery (Sheehan, 1967 , J. Clin. Psychology, 23, 386) uses outdated items and has an unreliable factor structure. We report the development and initial validation of the Plymouth Sensory Imagery Questionnaire (Psi‐Q) comprising items for each of the following modalities: Vision, Sound, Smell, Taste, Touch, Bodily Sensation, and Emotional Feeling. An exploratory factor analysis on a 35‐item form indicated that these modalities formed separate factors, rather than a single imagery factor, and this was replicated by confirmatory factor analysis. The Psi‐Q was validated against the Spontaneous Use of Imagery Scale (Reisberg et al., 2003 , Appl. Cogn. Psychology, 17, 147) and Marks' ( 1995 , J. Mental Imagery, 19, 153) Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire‐2 (VVIQ‐2). A short 21‐item form comprising the best three items from the seven factors correlated with the total score and subscales of the full form, and with the VVIQ‐2. Inspection of the data shows that while visual and sound imagery is most often rated as vivid, individuals who rate one modality as strong and the other as weak are not uncommon. Findings are interpreted within a working memory framework and point to the need for further research to identify the specific cognitive processes underlying the vividness of imagery across sensory modalities.     

The prioritization of visuo-spatial associations during mental imagery

While previous research has shown that during mental imagery participants look back to areas visited during encoding it is unclear what happens when information presented during encoding is incongruent. To investigate this research question, we presented 30 participants with incongruent audio-visual associations (e.g. the image of a car paired with the sound of a cat) and later asked them to create a congruent mental representation based on the auditory cue (e.g. to create a mental representation of a cat while hearing the sound of a cat). The results revealed that participants spent more time in the areas where they previously saw the object and that incongruent audio-visual information during encoding did not appear to interfere with the generation and maintenance of mental images. This finding suggests that eye movements can be flexibly employed during mental imagery depending on the demands of the task.

     

Action Observation and Imagery Training Improve the Ease With Which Athletes Can Generate Imagery

Imagery can improve sport performance, although its efficacy is mediated by the ease with which athletes can generate images. Establishing techniques that improve this imagery ability factor is desirable to enhance the effectiveness of imagery interventions. Twenty-seven club-level female golfers were assigned to imagery, action observation, or physical practice training groups (n = 9). Changes in image generation ease were assessed using the Revised Movement Imagery Questionnaire over an 8-week period. Imagery and action observation training were both effective in improving aspects of imagery ability. Action observation can provide sport psychologists with an effective tool for improving visual imagery ability in athletes.     

Using Motivational General-Mastery Imagery to Improve the Self-efficacy of Youth Squash Players

The current study examined whether an individualized motivational general-mastery MG-M imagery intervention consisting of daily imagery practice and weekly one-on-one guided imagery sessions could enhance self-efficacy in youth squash athletes (N = 5; M _age = 10.80; SD = 1.93). A single-subject multiple-baseline design was employed spanning 13–18 weeks. Measures included the Sport Imagery Questionnaire for Children (Hall, Munroe-Chandler, Fishburne, & Hall et al., 2009) and a squash-specific self-efficacy questionnaire. Results indicated improvements in self-efficacy for 3 of the 5 athletes. The results from this study help inform researchers and practitioners regarding the use of MG-M imagery as a means to improve young athletes’ self-efficacy.     

The relationship between competitive anxiety and imagery use

Abstract

Imagery has been proposed to be an effective strategy for controlling levels of competitive anxiety, but little b known about how imagery functions to achieve this. This study explored the relationship between imagery use. imagery ability. competitive anxiety and performance. Fifty-seven Junior North American Roller Skating Championship competitors completed the revised Movement Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ-R), the Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ), and the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory—2 (CSAI-2). Results from stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed visual imagery ability and motivational arousal imagery to be predictors of cognitive state anxiety. Visual imagery ability also predicted somatic state anxiety. while motivational mastery imagery was a predictor of self-confidence. With respect to the relationship between imagery use and imagery ability, high imagery ability was associated with higher imagery use. Finally, self-confidence and kinesthetic imagery ability scores correctly classified a majority of the subjects as medalists versus non-medalists. These results suggest that imagery can be used to help control competitive anxiety levels and enhance self-confidence.     

Phenomenal consciousness with infallible self-representation

In this paper, I argue against the claim recently defended by Josh Weisberg that a certain version of the self-representational approach to phenomenal consciousness cannot avoid a set of problems that have plagued higher-order approaches. These problems arise specifically for theories that allow for higher-order misrepresentation or—in the domain of self-representational theories—self-misrepresentation. In response to Weisberg, I articulate a self-representational theory of phenomenal consciousness according to which it is contingently impossible for self-representations tokened in the context of a conscious mental state to misrepresent their objects. This contingent infallibility allows the theory to both acknowledge the (logical) possibility of self-misrepresentation and avoid the problems of self-misrepresentation. Expanding further on Weisberg’s work, I consider and reveal the shortcomings of three other self-representational models—put forward by Kreigel, Van Gulick, and Gennaro—in order to show that each indicates the need for this sort of infallibility. I then argue that contingent infallibility is in principle acceptable on naturalistic grounds only if we attribute (1) a neo-Fregean kind of directly referring, indexical content to self-representational mental states and (2) a certain ontological structure to the complex conscious mental states of which these indexical self-representations are a part. In these sections I draw on ideas from the work of Perry and Kaplan to articulate the context-dependent semantic structure of inner-representational states.     

Effects of Applying the PETTLEP Model on Vividness and Ease of Imaging Movement

This study investigated the effects of applying elements of the PETTLEP model on vividness and ease of imaging movement. Forty participants (M age = 23.47 years, SD = 4.11) completed the Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire when using PETTLEP imagery or traditional imagery. Results revealed significantly higher ease and vividness ratings for internal visual imagery (IVI) and kinesthetic imagery (KI) during the PETTLEP imagery condition compared to the more traditional imagery. No significant difference between conditions for external visual imagery emerged. Findings imply that incorporating PETTLEP elements during imagery enables greater ease and vividness of movement when using IVI and KI.     

Looking for meaning: Eye movements are sensitive to overlapping semantic features, not association

Theories of semantic memory differ in the extent to which relationships among concepts are captured via associative or via semantic relatedness. We examined the contributions of these two factors, using a visual world paradigm in which participants selected the named object from a four-picture display. We controlled for semantic relatedness while manipulating associative strength by using the visual world paradigm’s analogue to presenting asymmetrically associated pairs in either their forward or backward associative direction (e.g., ham—eggs vs. eggs—ham). Semantically related objects were preferentially fixated regardless of the direction of presentation (and the effect size was unchanged by presentation direction). However, when pairs were associated but not semantically related (e.g., iceberg—lettuce), associated objects were not preferentially fixated in either direction. These findings lend support to theories in which semantic memory is organized according to semantic relatedness (e.g., distributed models) and suggest that association by itself has little effect on this organization.     

Do sequence-space synaesthetes have better spatial imagery skills? Maybe not

Sequence-space synaesthesia is a type of visuo-spatial imagery in which numbers or calendar units are experienced to occupy locations in space. Previous studies have claimed that these synaesthetes (1) have stronger self-reported visual (but not spatial) imagery and (2) perform unusually well on mental rotation tasks that are usually taken to reflect spatial (but not visual) imagery. To further investigate whether this form of synaesthesia is related to spatial imagery, we compared synaesthetes to controls on the Object Spatial Imagery Questionnaire, a paper folding test and a mental rotation task. The synaesthetes did not differ from controls in self-reported spatial imagery, but showed a strong trend to report better visual imagery, replicating previously reported data patterns. Consistent with this, their paper folding and mental rotation performance was no better than controls. We also confirmed that, in our pooled sample, performance on both these tasks was positively correlated with self-reported spatial imagery. We suggest our data are more consistent with the view that sequence-space synaesthesia is related to visual than to spatial imagery, and we suggest reasons why previous studies may have found superior mental rotation performance.     

从表征和认知过程上看表象与知觉、记忆的关系

表象、知觉和记忆是一个整合的认知系统。由于知觉和记忆提供了表象生成的材料,因而三者共享相似的表征,并激活广泛而相似的脑区。然而在认知加工过程上三者存在一定的差异。与知觉相比,表象的编码方式更抽象、更依赖过去经验的参与且处理细节能力更弱;与记忆相比,表象更容易受无关信息的干扰。未来对三者关系的研究应关注不同来源和不同类型的表象与知觉、记忆之间的关系,以及工作记忆在三者关系中所起的作用。     

Inter-individual neural differences in movement imagery abilities

ObjectivesBuilding on mounting evidence distinguishing the neurological basis of different movement imagery abilities (visual versus kinesthetic), this study compared brain activity (i.e., blood flow changes) through functional magnetic resonance imaging elicited by movement imagery in participants self-reporting good and poor imagery abilities with the Movement Imagery Questionnaire-3. Participants also completed the Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire-2. Method: Thirty-seven females (good imagery ability = 18; poor imagery ability = 19) were randomly presented with four experimental conditions (i.e., Kinesthetic, Internal Perspective, External Perspective and Rest) counterbalanced for condition, during three separate 11-min functional brain scans. Results: Kinesthetic and visual (internal/external) subscale mean differences of the Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire-2 favored good imagers and high Movement Imagery Questionnaire-3 inter-scale correlations evidenced convergent validity. As in prior published work, kinesthetic, internal, and external visual imagery elicited distinct patterns of brain activation relative to rest. Overall, the patterns of brain activity in the good and poor imager groups were remarkably similar, indicating that they both generally relied on a similar brain network during movement imagery. Conclusions: Contrary to processing efficiency hypotheses (i.e., neural efficiency hypothesis) we report that during kinesthetic imagery and external visual imagery only, good imagers actually activated a greater number of spatially distinct cortical sites than did poor imagers. Furthermore, research is needed to fully characterize the neural signature of movement imagery in good and poor imagers. Such research is critical to the appropriate creation and proper application of neuroscience-inspired movement imagery-based learning interventions in healthy and clinical populations.     

Athletes’ ease of imaging predicts their imagery and observational learning use

Objectives

Following the development of the Sport Imagery Ability Questionnaire (SIAQ; Williams & Cumming, 2011), the aim of the present two studies was to more comprehensively examine the relationship between sport-related imagery ability and the functions of imagery and observational learning (OL) athletes report. A second aim was to establish the SIAQ’s predictive validity.

Design

Two samples of cross-sectional questionnaire data are presented in two studies.

Method

For both studies, athletes were recruited from a variety of team and individual sports, ranging in competitive level and years of experience. In Study 1, 117 participants (41 male and 76 female) with a mean age of 24.38 (SD = 9.46) completed the SIAQ and the Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ; Hall, Mack, Paivio, & Hausenblas, 1998). In Study 2, 221 participants (83 male and 138 female) with a mean age of 22.34 (SD = 7.66) completed the SIAQ and the Functions of Observational Learning Questionnaire (FOLQ; Cumming, Clark, Ste-Marie, McCullagh, & Hall, 2005).

Results

Athletes’ imagery ability significantly predicted their imagery and OL use. Moreover, with the exception of performance OL, predictions were stronger when the type of imagery ability closely matched the function of imagery or OL being predicted.

Conclusions

As well as demonstrating the predictive validity of the SIAQ, results from both studies support the need to use imagery ability measures that most closely match the type of imagery or OL being used.     

Differences in Imagery Content and Imagery Ability Between High and Low Confident Track and Field Athletes

The purpose of this research was to examine how high and low trait sport confident track and field athletes differed in their imagery content and imagery ability. NCAA Division I track and field athletes ( M age = 20.5 +/- 1.61 years; M = 7.15 +/- 3.3 years experience; N = 111, 44 males and 67 females) completed the following measures: Trait Sport Confidence Inventory (TSCI), Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ), and Movement Imagery Questionnaire - Revised (MIQ-R). Profile analyses revealed that high trait sport confident athletes utilized each category of imagery (Motivational General - Mastery, Motivational General - Arousal, Motivational Specific, Cognitive General, and Cognitive Specific) significantly more than low trait sport confident athletes. No significant differences emerged between the groups on the two imagery ability scales. The results suggest that the high confident athletes used more imagery, but they did not have higher imagery skills than low confident athletes.     

The Relationship between Imagery Ability and Imagery Use among Athletes

The present study aimed to provide a better understanding of the relationship between imagery ability and imagery use. Athletes completed the Movement Imagery Questionnaire—Revised Second Version, the Motivational Imagery Ability Measure for Sport, and the Sport Imagery Questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that imagery ability explained 20 to 41% of the variance in the use of the functions of imagery. Visual and kinesthetic imagery ability predicted cognitive specific imagery use; motivational general-mastery and motivational general-arousal imagery ability predicted the use of the motivational general functions of imagery. To assess imagery ability multiple methods of assessment must be used.     

Early morphological processing is morphosemantic and not simply morpho-orthographic: A violation of form-then-meaning accounts of word recognition

Many studies have suggested that a word’s orthographic form must be processed before its meaning becomes available. Some interpret the (null) finding of equal facilitation after semantically transparent and opaque morphologically related primes in early stages of morphological processing as consistent with this view. Recent literature suggests that morphological facilitation tends to be greater after transparent than after opaque primes, however. To determine whether the degree of semantic transparency influences parsing into a stem and a suffix (morphological decomposition) in the forward masked priming variant of the lexical decision paradigm, we compared patterns of facilitation between semantically transparent (e.g., coolant—cool) and opaque (e.g., rampant—ramp) prime—target pairs. Form properties of the stem (frequency, neighborhood size, and prime—target letter overlap), as well as related—unrelated and transparent—opaque affixes, were matched. Morphological facilitation was significantly greater for semantically transparent pairs than for opaque pairs. Ratings of prime—target relatedness predicted the magnitude of facilitation. The results limit the scope of form-then-meaning models of word recognition and demonstrate that semantic similarity can influence even early stages of morphological processing. The research reported here was supported by National Institute of Child Health and Development Grant HD-01994 to Haskins Laboratories.     

Implementation intentions and imagery: individual and combined effects on prospective memory among young adults

Prospective memory (PM) has been found to benefit from implementation intentions (i.e., “when I see X, I will do Y”). However, to date, it is unclear whether implementation intentions must incorporate imagery in order to produce a positive effect on PM, or whether the verbal statement alone is sufficient. It is also equivocal whether the use of visual imagery alone improves PM, absent an intentional statement. The present study investigated the individual influences of implementation intentions and imagery, as well as their combined effect, on PM. A total of 64 undergraduates were placed into one of four instructional conditions—read-only, implementation intention, imagery, or combined—and were then tested on a laboratory PM task. The results revealed that participants in the implementation intention, imagery, and combined groups completed significantly more PM tasks than did participants in the read-only group, but they did not differ from one another. Combining implementation intentions and imagery, however, did not improve PM performance over either strategy alone. Additionally, the implementation intention and imagery groups outperformed the read-only group on a secondary ongoing digit detection task. The results of this study suggest that implementation intentions do not require imagery to be effective in improving PM, and that imagery alone has positive effects on PM. Finally, the results of the ongoing digit detection task suggest that the use of implementation intentions and imagery might provide for automatic identification and processing of environmental cues.