The role of loudness in auditory imagery

Four experiments studied characteristics of auditory images initiated by named but unheard sounds. The sounds varied in their loudness ratings. As the difference between the loudness ratings of the two sound phrases increased, the times to mentally equate the loudness of the two images increased, whereas the times to identify the louder (or softer) of the images decreased. Moreover, congruity effects were found in the comparative judgment task: Times were faster to identify the louder of two loud-rated stimuli than to judge the softer of the same two stimuli, and times were faster to identify the softer of the two soft-rated than two loud-rated stimuli. The loudness ratings did not always influence performance, however, for neither an image generation nor a reading task showed response times that varied with loudness ratings. These results suggest that sensory/perceptual components are optionally represented in auditory images. These components are included when appropriate to a given task. A control experiment showed that the results cannot be considered epiphenomenal.