Imagery in thinking and problem solving

The possible role of imagery in thinking and problem solving was examined by giving 20 subjects a practical construction test (Maier's hat rack problem). 5 men and 4 women solved the problem. Posttest questioning indicated two distinct types of imagery were used to solve the problem, imagination or memory in imagery. The solvers tended to use imagination in imagery and the nonsolvers memory in imagery. In Exp. 2, 40 subjects were specifically instructed to use one or another of these strategies. Those using imagination in imagery were more likely to solve the problem than those using memory in imagery. The conclusion was drawn that imagination in imagery favours and memory in imagery impedes the solving of this problem.