Voluntary Imagery
Voluntary imagery refers to the deliberate, conscious generation of mental experiences - like intentionally trying to imagine a beach scene or recall how an apple tastes. In aphantasia, this ability to create voluntary mental imagery in one or more senses is reduced or absent. On this page, you'll find research, personal experiences, and discussions about voluntary imagery and its relationship to aphantasia.
Expanding Aphantasia Definition: Researchers Propose New Boundaries
Researchers expand aphantasia definition beyond "inability to visualize." This broader framework impacts how we understand and identify with the condition.
Can't Visualize An Apple? Try This Apple Illusion to Experience What Others See
This optical afterimage experiment allows people who can't visualize to temporarily 'see' an image that isn't there—using visual perception to demonstrate what others experience through imagination.
Impact of Aphantasia on the Reading Experience
Does aphantasia impact the reading experience? Exploring the relationship between reading preferences and mental imagery.
Mental Images and the Design Process
When I learned about aphantasia I began to wonder... How might the vividness of our individual imaginations impact our design process?
Visualizing the Invisible
What do typical visualizers experience? How does my imaginative experience compare? Designer Melanie Scheer introduces a new way to visualize the visual imagination spectrum.
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