This paper surveys some major trends from research on visual and spatial thinking coming from cognitive science, developmental psychology, science literacy, and science studies. It explores the role of visualisation in creativity, in building mental models, and in the communication of scientific ideas, in order to place these findings in the…

The author partially describes a few of the immanent qualities of dreaming imagery and metaphor. The concept of the ineluctable modality is introduced to illustrate the spontaneous synthesizing of cognitive and noncognitive elements. A short dream excerpt is shared to clarify the pervasive contrapuntallike depth of dreaming imagery. (Author/SJL)

On the assumption that vividness reports and recall were both mediated by the same covert event - a visual image - these results provide further evidence that images have an important role in memory. (Author)

The findings of this study indicated that induced imagery facilitated correct shape reproduction in 8-year-olds better than induced verbalization. (JMB)

In three experiments undergraduates were presented with eight adjective-noun phrases within a paired-associate list context in the orders adjective-noun and noun-adjective and instructed that either word would be given as a cue for recall. The same phrases were presented within a prose context where recall was tested by the cloze procedure. In the…

The four sections of this paper provide an analysis of the structure of human memory. The first section, intended to provide a clear example of personal memory, examines a hypothetical episode in the life of an undergraduate student, and shows how one episode can give rise to three different forms of memory: personal, semantic, and rote…

The "page-at-a-glance" reading phenomenon in two gifted readers using only monocular vision was investigated. The specific questions to be answered in this preliminary study were (1) What is the average duration of fixations made by gifted readers while reading a somewhat familiar article? and (2) What degree of comprehension on materials of…

Studies support the hypothesis that images aroused by discreet verbal stimuli can be integrated into complex images with the result that: (a) storage capacity requirements are reduced, and (b) recall of one component of the image leads to effective redintegration of the rest. (JB)

Compared verbal and visual encoding using the picture superiority effect. One experiment found an interaction between age and type of material. In other experiments, the picture superiority effect was found in both age groups with no interaction. Performing a semantic-orienting task had no effect on recall. (Author/RC)

Children and adults were more likely to claim a word was presented as a picture than vice versa. Results indicated the absence of developmental differences in reality monitoring and similarity in representational processes of children and adults. (BC)

Three experiments describe the effects of imagery on learning a large and integrated body of information from a college lecture. It was hypothesized that high-imagery phrases would be more easily recalled and would promote recall of abstract verbal phrases in close temporal proximity to them. In experiment 1, 22 undergraduates attended a lecture…

Examines the effect of verbalization on the formation and retention of mental images in children in kindergarten, first, and fifth grades. Reports no self-generated verbalization effect with gender or ability level and no retention effect. (Author)

While mnemonic systems have been taught and used for hundreds of years, virtually all of the experimental research into such systems has been conducted since 1965. This paper describes four mnemonic systems, all of which rely heavily on visual imagery, and summarizes research conducted on the performance values of each system. The link system, the…

Proposes guidelines for the development of a curriculum of visual thinking for early childhood education. Outlines suggestions derived from Piaget's theory and research as they apply to developing children's mental imagery skills in the school setting. Relates Piaget's findings to those of learning theory and "split brain" research. (MCF)

Undergraduate students who were given specific instructions to form mental images while reading a text passage containing spatial information scored significantly higher than the control group on a drawing posttest. Significant correlations also resulted between the test scores and both reading time and use of imagery. The use of imagery…