What is Visual Imagery?
Visual imagery is often confused as a way of seeing or a way of thinking and there is a difference between the two. Visual imagery is not images on the retina processed by the brain. It is more like watching a movie. You see the movie in your mind as if it were real. It is a form of mental imagery (Ji et al., 2019). We are all surrounded by images, and we are constantly seeing new images in our lives, even if it is in the form of a picture, a T.V. show or a movie. Our visual imagery affects our perception of the world and what is happening around us. The meaning of visual imagery is very subjective because the definition of a visual image is diverse (Pearson, J. 2019). It could be a concept, a piece of information, a memory, an experience.
In the film, the camera shows what is real and what is not. It is a way to indicate to the audience that the world they see is not the same as the world they live in. This is accomplished by showing events that are not real or not true. There is no doubt that visual imagery plays a significant role in the human experience. But while it is true that it is easier to observe visual imagery with one’s eyes open than with one’s eyes closed, the relationship between vision and reality is not always as clear as it might seem (Fulford et al., 2018). Does visual imagery match reality? Is it possible that we only sometimes see things as they are?
We often have a tendency to rely on visual imagery to make decisions. This can be a useful strategy, but it can also run the imagination into overdrive if we don’t keep things in perspective. The reality is that we cannot rely on what we see in our imagination. It is important to remember that we live in a very real world where there are facts, figures, and hard data that we can depend upon.
Similarities Between Visual Imagery and Actual Processing of an Object
One of the most common ways of comparing visual imagery to reality is to consider the perception of reality to be more vivid when the eyes are open. Anecdotal evidence, such as accounts by blind people, has been used to support this idea. However, this hypothesis has been largely discredited. Some evidence suggests that vision is impaired when the eyes are closed. Visual imagery is the mental process we represent the world around us in our minds. We perceive the world and interpret the meaning of our sensory experiences. It occurs in both the conscious and unconscious minds (Fulford et al., 2018). It is the means by which we understand and interpret our environment, and it is the primary tool by which we are able to learn and remember.
Most of us have seen the famous optical illusion, in which the image of a ladder appears to be leaning against a brick wall in the foreground, while the wall appears to be leaning against the ladder in the background (Coren & Girgus, 2020). This is an example of a false perception, or perceptual illusion, in which our brains make a mistake or misinterpret what we are seeing in front of us.
The same object can be observed visually in different ways to see how it is interpreted differently. This is due to the visual system being a highly complex organ with many areas of specialization. Each area has a unique function and is specialized for a particular function. One area of the visual system is responsible for forming images of objects in our environment. Similarities between visual and actual processing of an object: both involve the construction of two-dimensional images, but the visual system is a brain construct used to represent a concept. In contrast, the actual object is the physical object itself. The created image is a product of a sophisticated cognitive process in both circumstances; the constructed image is used to represent a notion in both cases (Martin et al., 2018). The constructed image is the outcome of a creative effort and may be adjusted by the creator in both cases.
Ability to Differentiate Imagery from Reality
Human consciousness depends on our ability to distinguish our own experiences from others. It helps us understand ourselves and regulate our actions. It also helps us understand others’ ideas and feelings. Introspection is distinguishing between one’s imagery from reality and others. It is a fundamental human skill and a fundamental part of human consciousness (Weger et al., 2018). Self-awareness is the ability to distinguish between fantasy and reality. Introspection is essential for self-awareness and self-control. Introspection is forming one’s self-image and assessing one’s worth in relation to others. We develop memories and discover new things through introspection. Understanding our own and others’ emotions and controlling our own and others’ mental states allows us to influence our behavior. It’s the ability to become self-aware or recognize that one is. Psychology, philosophy, and religion have long emphasized introspection, as indicated by numerous debates about the nature of consciousness and the mind. Mindfulness is the ability to distinguish between self-image and reality.
How Visual Imagery Differs from Disorders
Schizophrenia is a disorder characterized by hallucinations, delusions, and other symptoms. One of the hallmarks of schizophrenia is visual hallucinations, which occur when the sufferer sees things that are not there (McCutcheon et al., 2020). However, not all hallucinations are visual. Some people hear voices or feel things that aren’t there. Schizophrenia and other disorders such as hypnagogic hallucinations are commonly associated with a disruption in the experience of visual imagery. However, there is much debate about whether such disruption occurs in these disorders or if a different type of imagery is experienced. We will discuss schizophrenia and hypnagogic hallucinations and then compare these experiences to those experienced in normal circumstances. Strains of schizophrenia are described as a mental disorder that involves a loss of contact with reality and leads to a loss of the ability to distinguish between what is real and what is not. The first thing to note about visual imagery in schizophrenia is that it is often very different from the imagery experienced in normal circumstances.
The primary difference between visual imagery and schizophrenia is that in the former case, the cause for the imagery is an externally-triggered memory. In contrast, the cause is internal, an emotion triggered by a memory in the latter case. In other words, the cause of visual imagery is external to the patient, whereas the cause of a person experiencing a thought of delusion is internal to the patient (Grzeczkowski et al., 2018). According to a schizophrenic patient, visual imagery is merely a byproduct of delusion.
Narcolepsy is a rarely discussed disorder that causes one to experience hypnagogic hallucinations while they are sleep-deprived. These hallucinations tend to be visual and take many shapes, such as deer running through the apartment or strange faces appearing in the corner of their vision. The hallucinations feel real, but they know they are just products of their sleep-deprived brain (Bassetti et al., 2019). The first time I experienced a hypnagogic hallucination, I was lying in bed, just a few hours from fully asleep.
Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that causes people to experience hypnagogic hallucinations, also called sleep paralysis, during the transition from wakefulness to sleep. Hypnagogic hallucinations occur in the pre-sleep state when the brain transitions from the conscious to the unconscious state. The most common hypnagogic hallucinations in narcolepsy are of snakes, spiders and other animals, which can be frightening and cause people to become anxious and inhibited in their sleep, as well as alarmed due to various phobias. But the opposite is true for narcolepsy patients who are on the medication Modafinil, a medication used to treat other disorders such as shift work sleep disorder and excessive daytime sleepiness. The first time I experienced hypnagogic hallucinations, I felt like I had been transported somewhere else, even though I was lying in my bed, staring at the ceiling. My mind drifted off to sleep, but my eyes were open. I was aware of everything around me, but something strange had happened to my vision.
References
Bassetti, C., Adamantidis, A., Burdakov, D., Han, F., Gay, S., Kallweit, U., Khatami, R., Koning, F., Kornum, B. R., Lammers, G. J., Liblau, R. S., Luppi, P. H., Mayer, G., Pollmächer, T., Sakurai, T., Sallusto, F., Scammell, T. E., Tafti, M., & Dauvilliers, Y. (2019). Narcolepsy—clinical spectrum, aetiopathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment. Nature Reviews Neurology, 15(9), 519-539.
Coren, S., & Girgus, J. S. (2020). Seeing is deceiving: The psychology of visual illusions. Routledge.
Fulford, J., Milton, F., Salas, D., Smith, A., Simler, A., Winlove, C., & Zeman, A. (2018). The neural correlates of visual imagery vividness–An fMRI study and literature review. Cortex, 105, 26-40.
Grzeczkowski, L., Roinishvili, M., Chkonia, E., Brand, A., Mast, F. W., Herzog, M. H., & Shaqiri, A. (2018). Is the perception of illusions abnormal in schizophrenia? Psychiatry Research, 270, 929-939.
Ji, J. L., Kavanagh, D. J., Holmes, E. A., MacLeod, C., & Di Simplicio, M. (2019). Mental imagery in psychiatry: conceptual & clinical implications. CNS Spectrums, 24(1), 114-126.
Martin, C. B., Douglas, D., Newsome, R. N., Man, L. L., & Barense, M. D. (2018). Integrative and distinctive coding of visual and conceptual object features in the ventral visual stream. Elife, 7, e31873.
McCutcheon, R. A., Marques, T. R., & Howes, O. D. (2020). Schizophrenia—an overview. JAMA Psychiatry, 77(2), 201-210.
Pearson, J. (2019). The human imagination: the cognitive neuroscience of visual mental imagery. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 20(10), 624-634.
Weger, U., Wagemann, J., & Meyer, A. (2018). Introspection in psychology. European Psychologist.