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Visual mental imagery, or the ability to perceive a situation or set of objects in the "mind's eye," is an important aspect of the learning process. One of the major theones of imagery is called the array theory and is aimed at describing components in an imagery processing system. Building on past research supporting this theory, a study was performed that examined three-dimensional space in images. Forty subjects participated in an imagery scanning task under conditions involving either a real or photographic display of objects. Results indicated that (a) space is a property of images; (b) the stimulus from which an image is formed may affect perceived space in images, and (c) differences in individuals' ability to form vivid images could influence perceived space. Further research is needed to enable occupational therapy educators to assess how activity is preserved in images and how individual differences among students could relate to the array theory of imagery processing.
Key Words: perception * vision * cognition
Since the mid-1960s, the investigation of mental imagery has flourished in the behavioral sciences. After a period during which behaviorism was the predominant theory in the fields of psychology, education, and other related disciplines, researchers again returned to what was begun in the late 1800s by early researchers studying cognition: the systematic study of the nature and function of mental imagery. Mental imagery is the ability of each sensory system (vision, hearing, smell, and so forth) to have a quasi-sensory awareness of an event or object in the outside world without the immediate presence of that event or object in the environment. One might say it is sensory experience without input from the environment.
Methods used to study imagery began to change from subjective, introspective methods such as self-report questionnaires and began to integrate the use of more objective measures developed in behavioral approaches, such as measuring a person's reaction time as part of an imagery task, and objective tests of imagery ability (Richardson, 1983). The use of imagery strategies in many areas of higher education, including allied health, has recently received increased attention (Richardson, Wilson, Sheely, & Young, 1984). Uses of imagery in allied health have included mental practice of therapy techniques, exploration of future decision-making situations, exploration of student...