VVIQ (Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire)

Detailed Explanation

The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) is the questionnaire most widely used in research to assess visual imagery ability. It was developed by David Marks in 1973 and has since been the most commonly used instrument in imagery research. The test contains 16 items querying various visualization scenarios: relatives' faces, sunrises, shops, and landscapes. Participants rate the vividness of their mental images on a scale from 1 (no image) to 5 (as vivid as actual seeing). The total score ranges from 16 to 80 points. Scores of 32 or less indicate aphantasia, while scores of 75–80 may indicate hyperphantasia (Wright 2024). For the revised versions (VVIQ-RV/VVIQ-2), internal consistency and construct validity have been published (Campos 2011, Perceptual and Motor Skills, doi:10.2466/04.22.PMS.113.5.454-460); the VVIQ is validated in many languages.

Keywords

• VVIQ
• questionnaire
• visualization
• test
• David Marks
• imagery

Learn more

• Scientific Background
• Research & Science
• VVIQ – The Original Questionnaire by Marks (1973)

Related Terms

• AphantasiaAphantasia is the inability to voluntarily create mental images. People with aphantasia cannot visualize faces, places, or objects in their mind's eye, although they can recognize and describe them. The term was coined by neurologist Adam Zeman in 2015.
• HyperphantasiaHyperphantasia refers to the ability to form extremely vivid, photorealistic mental images. People with hyperphantasia can imagine scenes so detailed that their inner images can almost be confused with real perception.
• PSIQ (Plymouth Sensory Imagery Questionnaire)The PSIQ is a questionnaire that measures imagery ability across seven modalities: visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, bodily sensation, and emotional feeling. It is more comprehensive than the purely visual VVIQ (Andrade et al. 2014, doi:10.1111/bjop.12050).
• Mental ImagesMental images are internal visual representations that arise without external stimuli. They enable seeing objects, scenes, or people before the "mind's eye," such as when remembering, dreaming, or planning.

External Resources

• Wikipedia (EN)