Scanning visual images:Some structural implications

This experiment was designed to explore the spatial and structural properties of visual imagery. Forty Ss were shown drawings and later asked to verify pictorial features of the drawings from memory One group of Ss was instructed to be able to recall an image of each drawing and to focus initially on one specified end of their images during the subsequent verification task. Another group of Ss were asked to recall a verbal description of each drawing and initially to describe one specified end of a drawing during the verification task. Time to verify pictorial properties was a function of the spatial distance of a property from an initial focus point for both groups, but Ss in the verbal description group experienced much greater difficulty in performing the task. Comparison of these times with those from additional imagery, encoding and verbal encoding groups ~ven no focusing instructions indicated that focusing instructions effectively directed scanning strategies.