Aphantasia apple test: can you picture a red apple?
Close your eyes and think of a red apple. Take a moment. What happens in your mind’s eye – and what doesn’t?
Four answers, from “No image” to “As if seen”. One question – your answer is not stored.
Sheet · Tests4 min read
Contents
The apple test is the shortest way to ask about your mind’s eye: one object, one answer. It shows how you experience imagery for this one thing – it cannot tell you whether you have aphantasia. For that, studies use questionnaires with many items, such as the VVIQ with its 16 items.
What your answer means
Each answer is how people describe one kind of mind’s eye – the same four steps as the scale under the print on our home page.
- No imageNo image, only the knowledge: this is how people with aphantasia describe their mind’s eye.
- OutlinesFaint and fleeting: this is how people with weak imagery describe their mental image.
- ClearA clear image: this is how most people describe their mind’s eye.
- As if seenAs vivid as real seeing: this is how people with hyperphantasia describe their mental image.
One question is not a classification yet. A single answer has no score and no cut-off.
Your answer stays on this page: it is not stored, not sent and not carried over into a test.
Where the apple question comes from
Picturing an apple is a common way to explain aphantasia – our own pages use it too. We know of no primary source for who first asked it, so we don’t name one.
The idea behind it is documented: the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) by David Marks (1973) asks you to picture 16 things – a person you know, a rising sun, a shop front and a country scene – and to rate how vivid each image is on a five-point scale. The apple question asks the same for a single object.
- 5Perfectly clear and as vivid as normal vision
- 4Clear and reasonably vivid
- 3Moderately clear and vivid
- 2Vague and dim
- 1No image at all, you only “know” that you are thinking of the object
The rating scale in Marks’ words, as he gives it for the VVIQ-2 on davidfmarks.net (5 = most vivid).
What the apple test can tell you – and what it can’t
It can
- Give you a first impression of how vivid one imagined object is for you
- Be asked of anyone – and show that other people may answer differently
It can’t
- Say whether you have aphantasia, hypophantasia or hyperphantasia – studies classify by the sum of many items
- Tell you about other senses, your memories or your inner voice
- Give a diagnosis
An apple is simple and familiar. The VVIQ asks about several kinds of images, and only the sum of all 16 ratings (16 to 80) places someone on the scale that studies use. Aphantasia in the strict sense is the lowest possible sum, 16: every item rated “No image at all, you only “know” that you are thinking of the object”.
Neither the original 16-item VVIQ nor the extended version, VVIQ-2, are intended to be used as a screening tool for clinical/neurological conditions. Any score including the minimum and maximum is a measure of an individual difference in a distribution. To assume otherwise would be an illegitimate abuse of this instrument.
From one apple to a full test
- VST-1616 questions in four everyday scenes, about 5 minutes, following the method of the VVIQ. Take the test
- Original VVIQThe 16 items by Marks (1973) in the English original – the questionnaire used in the studies. Take the original VVIQ
- Aphantasia vs normalWhat counts as typical imagery, and the four ranges with their shares. Compare the ranges
Frequently asked questions
I see nothing when I picture an apple – do I have aphantasia?
Maybe, but one question can’t tell. In studies, aphantasia means the lowest possible VVIQ score, 16 of 80: every item rated “No image at all, you only “know” that you are thinking of the object”. The VST-16 or the original VVIQ give you a sum to compare.
I see the apple as if it were real – is that hyperphantasia?
Not from one answer. Studies speak of hyperphantasia from 75 of 80 VVIQ points (Wright et al. 2024) – an average rating close to “Perfectly clear and as vivid as normal vision” across all 16 items.
Is the apple test accurate?
It isn’t a measuring instrument: it has no score and no cut-off. Use it as a first impression, and a test with many items for an estimate.
Sources
- Marks, D. F. (1973). Visual imagery differences in the recall of pictures. British Journal of Psychology, 64(1), 17–24. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1973.tb01322.x
- Marks, D. F. Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) and VVIQ-2 – wording, instructions and rating scale: https://davidfmarks.net/vividness-of-visual-imagery-questionnaire-vviq/ and https://davidfmarks.net/vividness-of-visual-imagery-questionnaire-2/ (retrieved 2026-09-28)
- Wright, D. J., Scott, M. W., Kraeutner, S. N. et al. (2024). An international estimate of the prevalence of differing visual imagery abilities. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1454107. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1454107
Last reviewed:
Responsible: Onur Cirakoglu, founder of headon
Read on
One apple is one question. The VST-16 asks 16.
About 5 minutes, no account – your answers stay on your device.