Conceptual-peg hypothesis
A hypothesis associated with Paivio's dual coding theory that states that concrete nouns create images that other words can hang onto, and that this enhances memory for these words.
Depictive representation
Corresponds to spatial representation. So called because a spatial representation can be depicted by a picture.
Epiphenomenon
A phenomenon that accompanies a mechanism, but is not actually part of the mechanism. An example of an epiphenomenon is lights that flash on a mainframe computer as it operates.
Imageless-thought debate
The debate about whether thought is possible in the absence of images.
Imagery debate
The debate about whether imagery is based on spatial mechanisms such as those involved in perception, or on propositional mechanisms that are related to language.
Imagery neurons
A type of category-specific neurons that are activated by imagery.
Mental imagery
Experiencing a sensory impression in the absence of sensory input.
Mental rotation
Rotating an image of an object in the mind. Shepard and Metzler's experiment provided evidence that people use this method when asked to determine whether two depictions are of the same object viewed from different angles or are two different objects.
Mental scanning
A process of mental imagery in which a person scans a mental image in his or her mind.
Mental simulation
Models that people create about what will happen following different decisions.
Mental-walk task
A task used in imagery experiments in which participants are asked to form a mental image of an object and to imagine that they are walking toward this mental image.
Method of loci
A method for remembering things in which things to be remembered are placed at different locations in a mental image of a spatial layout. See also Pegword technique.
Paired-associate learning
Learning that occurs when a participant is presented with pairs of words during a study period and then is tested when one of the words is presented and the task is to recall the other word.
Pegword technique
A method for remembering things in which the things to be remembered are associated with concrete words. See also Method of loci.
Propositional representation
A representation in which relationships are represented by symbols, as when the words of language represent objects and the relationships between objects.
Rule-based approach
(to mechanical reasoning) Applying a rule to solve a mechanical reasoning problem. Contrasts with approaches that involve mental imagery.
Spatial representation
A representation in which different parts of an image can be described as corresponding to specific locations in space. See also Depictive representation.
Tacit-knowledge explanation
An explanation proposed to account for the results of some imagery experiments that states that participants unconsciously use knowledge about the world in making their judgments. This explanation has been used as one of the arguments against describing i
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
A procedure in which magnetic pulses are applied to the skull in order to temporarily disrupt the functioning of part of the brain.
Unilateral neglect
A problem caused by brain damage, usually to the right parietal lobes, in which the patient ignores objects in the left half of their visual field.
Visual imagery
A type of mental imagery involving vision, in which an image is experienced in the absence of a visual stimulus.