Power of Mental Imagery | Page 3

color-blind man, who has not discerned his
defect, has of the nature of color. They had a mental deficiency of
which they were unaware and naturally enough supposed that those
who affirmed they possessed it were romancing."
[Sidenote: Investigations of Professor James]
The investigations of Dr. Galton were continued by Professor James, of
Harvard University. He collected from hundreds of persons
descriptions of their own mental images. The following are extracts
from two cases of distinctly different types. The one who is a good
visualizer says:
"This morning's breakfast-table is both dim and bright; it is dim if I try
to think of it with my eyes closed. All the objects are clear at once, yet
when I confine my attention to any one object it becomes far more
distinct. I have more power to recall color than any other one thing; if,
for example, I were to recall a plate decorated with flowers I could
reproduce in a drawing the exact tone, etc. The color of anything that
was on the table is perfectly vivid. There is very little limitation to the
extent of my images; I can see all four sides of a room; I can see all
four sides of two, three, four, even more rooms with such distinctness
that if you should ask me what was in any particular place in any one,
or ask me to count the chairs, etc., I could do it without the least
hesitation. The more I learn by heart the more clearly do I see images
of my pages. Even before I can recite the lines I see them so that I
could give them very slowly word for word, but my mind is so
occupied in looking at my printed image that I have no idea of what I
am saying, of the sense of it, etc. When I first found myself doing this I
used to think it was merely because I knew the lines imperfectly; but I
have quite convinced myself that I really do see an image. The
strongest proof that such is really the fact is, I think, the following:
"I can look down the mentally seen page and see the words that

commence all the lines, and from any one of these words I can continue
the line. I find this much easier to do if the words begin as in a straight
line than if there are breaks. Example:
Etant fait Tous ............. A des ............ Que fit .......... Ceres ............
Avec ........... Un fleur ......... Comme .......... (La Fontaine S. IV.)"
The poor visualizer says:
"My ability to form mental images seems, from what I have studied of
other people's images, to be defective, and somewhat peculiar. The
process by which I seem to remember any particular event is not by a
series of distinct images, but a sort of panorama, the faintest
impressions of which are perceptible through a thick fog--I cannot shut
my eyes and get a distinct image of anyone, although I used to be able
to a few years ago, and the faculty seems to have gradually slipped
away. * * * In my most vivid dreams, where the events appear like the
most real facts, I am often troubled with a dimness of sight which
causes the images to appear indistinct. * * * To come to the question of
the breakfast-table, there is nothing definite about it. Everything is
vague. I cannot say what I see. I could not possibly count the chairs,
but I happen to know that there are ten. I see nothing in detail. * * *
The chief thing is a general impression that I cannot tell exactly what I
do see. The coloring is about the same, as far as I can recall it, only
very much washed out. Perhaps the only color I can see at all distinctly
is that of the tablecloth, and I could probably see the color of the wall
paper if I could remember what color it was."
This difference between individuals is just as marked in the matter of
ability to form auditory images as in respect to visual images.
[Sidenote: Investigations of Professor Scott]
Thus, Professor Walter Dill Scott, of Northwestern University, cites the
following:
"One student who has strong auditory imagery writes as follows: 'When
I think of the breakfast-table I do not seem to have a clear visual image

of it. I can see the length of it, the three chairs--though I can't tell the
color or shape of these--the white cloth and something on it, but I can't
see the pattern of the dishes or any of the food. I can very plainly hear
the rattle of the dishes and of the silver and above this hear the
conversation, also the other noises,