The relation between the capacities of imagination and visual memory in the short-term

Atkin, C ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5086-1173, Howard, CJ ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8755-1109, Baguley, T ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0477-2492, Baker, J and Guest, D ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4514-9186, 2025. The relation between the capacities of imagination and visual memory in the short-term. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 51 (11), pp. 1576-1604. ISSN 0096-1523

Preview

Text 2470092_Atkin.pdf - Post-print Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Visual imagery and short-term memory utilise similar brain networks, but the extent to which they are related remains unclear. Here we explore whether the capacity of visual imagery (as yet unknown) is similar to the known capacity limits of visual working memory (VWM) and visual short-term memory (VSTM). Experiment 1 explored capacity limits in imagination, VWM and VSTM using a novel paradigm that for the first time provided estimates of capacity across these tasks. Imagination capacity was lower than that of VWM and VSTM. Experiments 2-4 eliminated alternative explanations of this capacity difference. Manipulating the time available to generate, update and maintain an image (imagination task) or encode, update and maintain an image (VWM task) did not influence performance in either task (Experiment 2). Manipulating the cue location and the size of the cued area had no specific influence on the imagination task (Experiment 3). Changing the test display (Experiment 4) showed that presenting all items at test (configural information) benefitted VSTM performance, presenting a single item benefitted VWM performance and manipulating test display had no impact on imagination performance. In Experiment 5, increasing object complexity eliminated the difference between VSTM and imagination capacity, however VWM capacity remained higher than that of imagery. For the first time, these experiments using analogous tasks demonstrate a difference in the observed capacities of VWM and imagery and provide the first measurable indication of the extent to which top-down (imagery), versus bottom-up activation of sensory systems (memory) supports the representation of perceptual stimuli.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
Creators:	Atkin, C., Howard, C.J., Baguley, T., Baker, J. and Guest, D.
Publisher:	American Psychological Association
Date:	28 November 2025
Volume:	51
Number:	11
ISSN:	0096-1523
Identifiers:	Number Type 2470092 Other 10.1037/xhp0001364 DOI
Rights:	© American Psychological Association, 2025. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. The final article is available, upon publication, at: https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0001364
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Jeremy Silvester
Date Added:	18 Jul 2025 08:37
Last Modified:	13 Jan 2026 13:21
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/53979

Actions (login required)

Edit View

Statistics

Views

Downloads