Aphantasia and autism: an investigation of mental imagery vividness

King, R., Buxton, H. and Tyndall, I. (2024) Aphantasia and autism: an investigation of mental imagery vividness. Consciousness and Cognition, 125. pp. 1-14. ISSN 1053-8100

[thumbnail of Rachel King, Harry Buxton, Ian Tyndall,Aphantasia and autism: An investigation of mental imagery vividness,Consciousness and Cognition, Vol.125, 2024, 103749,ISSN 1053-8100,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2024.103749] Text (Rachel King, Harry Buxton, Ian Tyndall,Aphantasia and autism: An investigation of mental imagery vividness,Consciousness and Cognition, Vol.125, 2024, 103749,ISSN 1053-8100,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2024.103749)
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Abstract

Objective: The present study investigated whether autistic adults report different levels of mental imagery vividness than non-autistic adults, and, moreover, if autism is associated with aphantasia which is defined as a condition of reduced or absent voluntary imagery. Design and Methods: Clinically diagnosed and self-identifying autistic participants were compared with non-autistic participants in their mental imagery vividness (vision, sound, smell, taste, touch, bodily sensation and emotional feeling) and autistic traits using an online survey (N = 121). Results: The autistic group scored significantly lower than the non-autistic group on imagery vividness (d = -0.44), in addition to having a higher proportion of participants scoring at cut-off for aphantasia. Moreover, a similar difference was observed for the emotional feel (η2 = .11). Conclusion: The vividness of visual and emotional mental imagery was on average lower for autistic individuals, with a higher proportion presenting at cut-off to be considered an aphantasic.

Publication Type: Articles
Additional Information: © 2024 The Author(s).
Uncontrolled Keywords: Autism, Aphantasia, Mental Imagery Vividness, Visual Imagery, Emotional Imagery, Sensory Modalities.
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Academic Areas > Institute of Education, Social and Life Sciences > Psychology
Research Entities > POWER Centre
Related URLs:
Depositing User: Ian Tyndall
Date Deposited: 18 Sep 2024 08:46
Last Modified: 18 Sep 2024 08:46
URI: https://eprints.chi.ac.uk/id/eprint/7705

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