Copy of Afterimage Experiment

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Your current progress:

Enter Your Username *

Is this your first run through the study, or have you tried it before? *

I have tried it before.

This is my first time.

What is you age? *

What is your gender? *

Female

Male

Is English either your mother tongue or the language you use most? *

Yes

Visual imagery

This experiment studies how people differ in their experience of "visual imagery" in their mind's eye. By "visual images", we mean your ability to picture in your head what things look like, just from memory. An example is your ability to picture what somebody looks like.

Your task - Important!

We are going to ask you to compare your visual imagery to another kind of visual sensation called an afterimage. Afterimages occur when we stare at a bright display for a while, without moving our eyes, and then look away or close our eyes. Usually we then feel as if we have a kind of negative image of the thing we were staring at, etched onto the "back of our eyes".

Lights out - Don't be disturbed for 10 minutes

The whole procedure will take about 10 minutes. Please ensure that you will not be disturbed during that time, and that light conditions in the room won't change. The best way to do this is in a dark room (lights out, curtains drawn). Try to sit at the same distance from your computer screen throughout the experiment, ideally about an arms length.

Please now take the time to ensure the room you are in is as dark as possible.

(If you can't do this, the demonstrations will not be very effective.)

Before we start, a few questions about YOUR everyday experience of visual images in your mind's eye. It will only take a couple of minutes!

Read each description below and indicate the degree to which each is appropriate for YOU. Do not spend a lot of time thinking about each description, but respond based on your thoughts about how you do or do not perform each activity. There are 5 response options for each description. If a description is always completely appropriate for you, please chose "5"; if it is never appropriate, chose "1"; if it is appropriate about half of the time, chose "3"; and use the other numbers accordingly.

A) When going to a new place, I prefer directions that include detailed descriptions of landmarks (such as the size, shape and color of a gas station) in addition to their names. *

B) If I catch a glance of a car that is partially hidden behind bushes, I automatically "complete it," seeing the entire car in my mind's eye. *

C) If I am looking for new furniture in a store, I always visualize what the furniture would look like in particular places in my home. *

D) I prefer to read novels that lead me easily to visualize where the characters are and what they are doing instead of novels that are difficult to visualize. *

E) When I think about visiting a relative, I almost always have a clear mental picture of him or her. *

F) When relatively easy technical material is described clearly in a text, I find illustrations distracting because they interfere with my ability to visualize the material. *

G) If someone were to tell me two-digit numbers to add (e.g., 24 and 31), I would visualize them in order to add them. *

H) Before I get dressed to go out, I first visualize what I will look like if I wear different combinations of clothes. *

I) When I think about a series of errands I must do, I visualize the stores I will visit. *

J) When I first hear a friend's voice, a visual image of him or her almost always springs to mind. *

K) When I hear a radio announcer or DJ I've never actually seen, I usually find myself picturing what they might look like. *

L) If I saw a car accident, I would visualize what had happened when later trying to recall the details. *

Thank you!

Thanks for answering those questions. We will calculate an average score over all the questions to obtain an estimate of the extent to which you experience visual imagery in your everyday life.

Soundcheck

For the main experiment, you need to be able to hear a BEEP sound. To check your volume is on an is loud enough, press the play button below. You can do this as many times as you want. Adjust your computer volume setting so you can hear the beep.

Is your computer now set so that you able to hear the beep? *

Yes

Now practice seeing afterimages

Continue for a set of instructions.

1. Focus on the cross - Important!

We will show you a large white letter F displayed on your screen for 30 seconds against a black background. It is important you focus your eyes on the little black cross in the middle of this letter, without letting them wander to other parts of the screen. This is quite difficult and needs concentration. If you feel your eyes wandering, then try to quickly bring them back to focus again on the same spot.

After 30 seconds you'll hear a beep and the letter will disappear. Immediately close your eyes. After a few moments, you will probably begin to "see" a dark F. Just experience this afterimage with your eyes closed until you hear a second beep. Blinking your eyes can help the afterimage to form, and can sometimes help it to come back again if it has faded away.

2. Close your eyes after the beep

After 30 seconds you'll hear a beep and the letter will disappear. Immediately close your eyes. After a few seconds (be patient!), you will probably begin to "see" a dark F. Just experience this afterimage with your eyes closed until you hear a second beep. Blinking your eyes can help the afterimage to form, and can sometimes help it to come back again if it has faded away.

3. Open your eyes on the second beep

Focus on the cross

Next, we will show you a quick preview of what the letter will look like, with the little black cross to focus your eyes on.

In summary:

1) Watch the F until you hear a BEEP

- When watching, focus your eyes on the cross in the middle of the letter and try not to move them.
- Keep your head at the same distance from the screen throughout the 30 seconds.

2) After the beep, close your eyes

- After the beep, close your eyes, and watch how the afterimage develops then fades away.
- Try blinking sometimes to regenerate the afterimage.

3) Open your eyes when you hear the second BEEP

- The second beep will sound about 30 seconds after the first one.

OK, here we go

When you are sitting comfortably, press the NEXT tab to begin watching the letter F.

Did you experience an afterimage of the letter F? *

Yes

Not sure

Now Two Letters At Once

Next we'd like you to try and form an afterimage of 2 letters at once. You'll see two capital A letters, with a little cross between them, again for 30 seconds. As before, try to focus your gaze on the cross the whole time. When you hear a beep, close your eyes and experience your afterimage. When you hear a second beep, open them again.

In summary:

1) Watch the two A letters until you hear a BEEP.

- When watching, focus your eyes on the cross between the two letters and try not to move them.
- Keep your head at the same distance from the screen throughout the 30 seconds.

2) After the beep, close your eyes

- Watch how the afterimage develops then fades away.
- Try blinking sometimes to regenerate the afterimage.

3) Open your eyes when you hear the second BEEP

- The second beep will sound about 30 seconds after the first one.

OK, here we go

When you are sitting comfortably, press the NEXT tab to begin watching the two A letters.

Did you experience an afterimage of BOTH the A letters? *

1. Yes

2. Not sure

3. No

Imagine an afterimage - 'CAT'

You will now see the word 'CAT' displayed briefly, again with white letters on a black background. However this time the display will be too brief to give rise to an afterimage. As soon as the word 'CAT' disappears, close your eyes and try to imagine that same display in your mind's eye as clearly and vividly as you can.

No BEEP this time!

Take as long as you want to try and do this. When you have got the mental image of 'CAT' as good as you can, open your eyes again.

In summary:

1) Watch the brief display showing the word 'CAT'.

2) Close your eyes and try to imagine this same word in your mind's eye.

3) Open your eyes again when you have finished trying.

OK, here we go

When you are ready, press the NEXT tab to begin.

to be removed if we keep normal backgrounds for text

KEEP YOUR EYES CLOSED UNTIL YOU HAVE
FINISHED TRYING TO VISUALISE 'CAT'

Did you manage to imagine the word 'CAT' in your mind's eye? *

1. Yes

2. Not sure

3. No

What you see - 'C _ T'

Now you will see just the letters 'C' and 'T' displayed side by side for 30 seconds. There will be a white cross between the letters. As before, focus your eyes steadily on this cross, trying not to move your gaze. Close your eyes when you hear a beep, and observe the afterimages of the two letters.

Imagine the missing 'A' in the middle - to make 'CAT'

At the SAME TIME as you experience the afterimages of 'C' and 'T', try to deliberately build a visual image in your mind's eye of the letter 'A' positioned between these afterimages, so that it completes the word 'CAT'. In other words, the whole 'picture' in your mind should be made up of the afterimage of 'C', the afterimage of 'T', and the image of 'A' that you generated yourself. OK this sounds a bit weird, but give it a go! A second beep will tell you when to stop trying to do this and open your eyes again.

In summary:

1) Watch the two letters 'C' and 'T' until you hear a BEEP

- When watching, focus your eyes on the cross between the two letters and try not to move them.
- Keep your head at the same distance from the screen throughout the 30 seconds.

2) After the beep, close your eyes

- Watch the afterimage of 'C' and 'T' forming.

3) At the same time, imagine a letter 'A' between them to complete the word 'CAT'

- Try to make it as real as the afterimages of 'C' and 'T'.

4) Open your eyes when you hear the second BEEP

- The second beep will sound about 30 seconds after the first one.

OK, here we go

When you are ready, press the NEXT tab to begin.

Now think about your experience

In particular we would like you to focus on the similarity or difference between your experience of the afterimaged 'C' and 'T', compared to the deliberately imaged 'A'.

Please choose whichever one of the following statements best describes your experience: *

I did not have much of a mental image of the 'A' at all.

I had some kind of mental image of the 'A', but even at its strongest, it was nowhere as real and vivid as the afterimages of the 'C' and 'T' when they were at their strongest.

My deliberate mental image of the 'A', at its strongest, looked just like the afterimages of the 'C' and 'T' when they were at their strongest; i.e., it had a visual quality which was just as real and vivid as the afterimages.

My deliberate mental image of the 'A' had a visual quality that, at its strongest, was MORE real and vivid than the strongest afterimages of the 'C' and 'T'.

None of these options describes my experience very well.

Try it once again - Last chance!

The last exercise was quite complex. Now that you know what to expect, please try it one more time.

In summary:

1) Watch the two letters 'C' and 'T' until you hear a BEEP

- When watching, focus your eyes on the cross between the two letters and try not to move them.
- Keep your head at the same distance from the screen throughout the 30 seconds.

2) After the beep, close your eyes

- Watch the afterimage of 'C' and 'T' forming.

3) At the same time, imagine a letter 'A' between them to complete the word 'CAT'

- Try to make it as real as the afterimages of 'C' and 'T'.

OK, here we go

When you are ready, press the NEXT tab to begin.

Now think about your experience

In particular we would like you to focus on the similarity or difference between your experience of the afterimaged 'C' and 'T', compared to the deliberately imaged 'A'.

Please choose whichever one of the following statements best describes your experience: *

I did not have much of a mental image of the 'A' at all.

I had some kind of mental image of the 'A', but even at its strongest, it was nowhere as real and vivid as the afterimages of the 'C' and 'T' when they were at their strongest.

My deliberate mental image of the 'A' had a visual quality that, at its strongest, was MORE real and vivid than the strongest afterimages of the 'C' and 'T'.

None of these options describes my experience very well.

If you have any additional comments, please write them down in the text-field below:

While you were doing this experiment, was the room you were in... *

While you were doing the experiment, did you... *

Run right through without interuptions or breaks

Get interupted and/or take a break

On the scale below, indicate how hard you tried to generate a mental image in your mind's eye? Zero is not at all, and 100 is as hard as possible. *

Do you feel you answered all the questions as honestly as you could? *

Yes

Leave this field blank: