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The prevalence of aphantasia (imagery weakness) in the general population

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posted on 2023-06-10, 02:00 authored by Carla DanceCarla Dance, A Ipser, Julia SimnerJulia Simner
Visual mental imagery is the ability to create a quasi-perceptual visual picture in the mind's eye. For people with the rare trait of aphantasia, this ability is entirely absent or markedly impaired. Here, we aim to clarify the prevalence of aphantasia in the general population, while overcoming limitations of previous research (e.g., recruitment biases). In Experiment 1, we screened a cohort of undergraduate students (n502) using the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (Marks, 1973) and found that 4.2% had aphantasia. To establish the reliability of our estimate, we then screened a new sample of people (n502) at an online crowdsourcing marketplace, again finding that approximately four percent (3.6%) had aphantasia. Overall, our combined prevalence from over a thousand people of 3.9% - which shows no gender bias - provides a useful index for how commonly aphantasia occurs, based on measures and diagnostic thresholds in line with contemporary aphantasia literature.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

Conscious Cogn

ISSN

1053-8100

Publisher

Elsevier

Volume

97

Page range

1-10

Article number

a103243

Event location

United States

Department affiliated with

  • Psychology Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2021-12-14

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2022-12-04

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2021-12-13

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