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Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire

The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) is a self-report psychometric instrument designed to assess the subjective clarity and intensity of an individual's visual mental imagery across everyday scenarios.^[1] Developed by British psychologist David F. Marks, it requires respondents to rate the vividness of imagined visual experiences on a 5-point scale, ranging from 5 ("Perfectly clear and as vivid as normal vision") to 1 ("No image at all, you only 'know' that you are thinking of the object").^[1] Marks introduced the VVIQ in 1973 as part of empirical research investigating how differences in visual imagery ability influence memory performance, specifically in the recall of pictorial stimuli.^[1] The questionnaire comprises 16 items organized into four thematic scenes: visualizing a close friend or relative (e.g., "The exact contour of face, head, shoulders and body"), a sunrise (e.g., "The sun rising above the horizon into a hazy sky"), an array of colors in a shop (e.g., "The color of the floor"), and a rural landscape (e.g., "The number of arches on the bridge").^[1] Respondents evaluate each item with eyes open and then with eyes closed; the total score is the sum of the 16 eyes-closed ratings, ranging from 16 (low vividness) to 80 (high vividness), where higher scores indicate more vivid imagery. In its initial validation, the VVIQ demonstrated test-retest reliability of 0.74 (n=68) and split-half reliability of 0.85 (n=150), supporting its consistency as a measure of individual differences in imagery vividness.^[1] The VVIQ has since become one of the most widely adopted tools in cognitive psychology for quantifying visual imagery abilities, with extensive evidence from meta-analyses confirming its reliability and construct validity.^[2] A meta-analytic review reported high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha ≈ 0.88).^[3] It shows convergent validity with behavioral tasks, such as picture recall,^[1] and correlates moderately with the Questionnaire Upon Mental Imagery (r ≈ 0.50–0.60).^[4] Neuroimaging studies have linked higher VVIQ scores to greater activation in visual cortex regions during imagery tasks.^[5] In 1995, Marks revised the instrument into the VVIQ-2, expanding it to 32 items by including both eyes-open and eyes-closed ratings as separate entries.^[6] This version maintains the original's psychometric strengths, with reported Cronbach's alpha of 0.93,^[7] and improved applicability in clinical contexts, such as evaluating imagery deficits in conditions like aphantasia (characterized by low VVIQ scores indicating absent or weak imagery) or hyperphantasia (exceptionally vivid imagery).^[7]

Development and History

Origins and Initial Publication

The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) was developed in 1973 by psychologist David F. Marks at the Department of Psychology, University of Otago, in Dunedin, New Zealand.^[8] The instrument emerged as a response to the need for a reliable self-report tool to measure individual differences in the subjective vividness of visual mental imagery, particularly to investigate its role in memory processes such as picture recall.^[8] Prior research had relied on anecdotal accounts of varying imagery abilities, but lacked standardized quantification; Marks designed the VVIQ to address this by prompting participants to rate the clarity and liveliness of specific visualized scenes, thereby differentiating "good" (vivid) from "poor" (dim) imagers based on their responses.^[8] The original VVIQ consisted of 16 items divided into four scenes—a relative or friend whom you see often, a rising sun, the front of a familiar shop, and a country scene—each with four items assessing the vividness of specific visual features (e.g., contours, colors, details).^[8] Participants evaluated the vividness using a 5-point scale, ranging from "perfectly clear and as vivid as normal vision" to "no image at all, you only 'know' that you are thinking of the object/scene," with instructions to consider "the picture that comes before your mind's eye." Participants rate the vividness of each item twice, once with eyes open and once with eyes closed.^[8] This format was intended to evoke controlled visual experiences while minimizing demand characteristics from earlier, less structured imagery assessments.^[8] The questionnaire was first published in the British Journal of Psychology in 1973 (Volume 64, Issue 4, pages 321–324), within a study demonstrating that vivid imagers outperformed poor imagers in recalling colored photographs across three experiments.^[8] Initial reliability assessments reported in the publication showed test-retest reliability of 0.74 (n=68) and split-half reliability of 0.85 (n=150), establishing the VVIQ as a psychometrically sound measure from its inception.^[8] Subsequent adaptations, such as short-form versions, built upon this foundational 16-item structure.^[9]

Subsequent Revisions and Adaptations

Following the initial 1973 publication of the 16-item Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ), subsequent revisions aimed to refine its scoring and structure for improved psychometric properties and broader applicability. In 1995, David F. Marks introduced the VVIQ-2, which expanded the questionnaire to 32 items by treating eyes-open and eyes-closed ratings as separate entries, and reversed the 5-point scale so that higher scores corresponded to greater vividness, enhancing sensitivity and addressing the original's counterintuitive scoring. Later that year, Marks also released the VVIQ-RV (revised vividness version), expanding to 32 items across eight blocks of scenes and adopting a 7-point scale for more nuanced ratings, enhancing sensitivity to individual differences in imagery vividness.^[10] The VVIQ has been adapted for cross-cultural research through translations and validations that incorporate minor item adjustments to account for linguistic and cultural nuances. The Italian version, developed by Antonietti and Crespi in 1995, preserved the original structure but modified phrasing for equivalence in an Italian context, demonstrating good reliability in subsequent studies.^[11] Similarly, Chinese adaptations, such as the VVIQ-C validated in recent work, involved subtle revisions to scenes and terms for cultural relevance, confirming high internal consistency (Cronbach's α > 0.90) and test-retest reliability while aligning with the original's psychometric standards.^[12] The VVIQ's evolution in the 2010s included digital adaptations to facilitate online administration and increase accessibility for large-scale and remote assessments. Web-based implementations, such as those integrated into research platforms around 2012, allowed automated scoring and broader participant recruitment, maintaining equivalence to paper versions through validated digital formats.^[13] Although the core focus remained on visual imagery, the VVIQ inspired parallel instruments for other sensory modalities, such as the Vividness of Auditory Imagery Scale (developed in the early 1980s to parallel the VVIQ's structure for auditory experiences) and the Vividness of Olfactory Imagery Questionnaire (VOIQ, introduced in 1998 as an adaptation for olfactory vividness with 16 items rated on a 5-point scale). These extensions broadened the assessment of multisensory imagery while prioritizing visual revisions for the original questionnaire.^[14]^[15]

Design and Content

Structure of Items

The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) comprises 16 items, divided equally into four thematic groups that correspond to distinct scenes intended to evoke visual mental images of varying complexity. These scenes include visualizing a relative or friend whom the participant frequently sees, the rising of the sun, the front of a familiar shop or building, and a countryside landscape involving natural elements such as trees, mountains, and a lake.^[8]^[16]^[17] Within each scene, the four items systematically assess imagery from multiple perspectives to capture a comprehensive profile of visual vividness: a stationary external view focusing on overall form and structure, dynamic movement involving action or change, an internal or first-person perspective emphasizing spatial relations, and additional details such as colors, shapes, or textures. This structure ensures that the questionnaire probes both static and kinetic elements of imagery while incorporating qualitative aspects like hue and form to evaluate the richness of the mental representation. Each of the 16 items is rated twice—once with eyes open and once with eyes closed—to assess variations in imagery vividness under different visual conditions.^[8]^[10] For instance, the relative or friend scene begins with the prompt to visualize "the exact contours of face, head, shoulders and body" for the stationary external view, followed by items on the person's characteristic pose, the precise carriage and length of step during walking to assess dynamic movement, and the different colors worn in some familiar clothes to incorporate additional details. Similar progressions apply to the other scenes, with exact wording derived directly from the original 1973 instrument to maintain consistency in imagery elicitation.^[13]^[8]^[18] The choice of these particular scenes reflects a deliberate design to use everyday, neutral stimuli that are relatable and low in emotional intensity, thereby minimizing demand characteristics—such as expectations of performance—and allowing for a reliable capture of baseline visual imagery ability across diverse participants.^[9]^[8]

Rating Scale and Imagery Scenes

The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) utilizes a 5-point Likert-style rating scale to quantify the subjective clarity and liveliness of mental visual images across its imagined scenes. In the original formulation, the scale anchors are reverse-coded such that higher numerical ratings correspond to lower imagery vividness: 1 = "Perfectly clear and as vivid as normal vision"; 2 = "Clear and reasonably vivid"; 3 = "Moderately clear and vivid"; 4 = "Vague and dim"; and 5 = "No image at all, you only 'know' that you are thinking of the object/scene." This design, as clarified in the 1973 publication, allows for scores where low values indicate strong, realistic imagery and high values signal absent or minimal visualization. Subsequent revisions and adaptations, such as the VVIQ-2, have inverted the scale to align higher scores with greater vividness (e.g., 5 = "Perfectly clear and as vivid as real seeing"; 1 = "No image at all"), facilitating more intuitive interpretation in research contexts.^[6] Regardless of version, the scale emphasizes self-reported perceptual qualities like sharpness, color saturation, and dynamism rather than emotional or abstract associations. To ensure ratings reflect internal mental processes, instructions direct participants to form images with eyes closed, thereby excluding external visual stimuli and promoting unadulterated assessment of imagery strength. Some protocols include dual ratings—once with eyes open and once closed—for comparative analysis, but the core emphasis remains on closed-eye visualization to isolate voluntary imagery.^[9] Ratings are applied to specific elements within the questionnaire's four thematic scenes (a friend or relative, a rising sun, the front of a shop, and a rural landscape), focusing on scene-specific vividness factors that capture perceptual fidelity. For instance, in dynamic scenes like the rising sun, participants evaluate the clarity of colors (e.g., the sun against a hazy sky) and motion (e.g., clouds forming and a storm blowing up). In landscape scenes, ratings consider depth perception, spatial arrangement of elements (e.g., foreground trees relative to distant hills), and overall three-dimensional coherence to gauge the image's realism. These factors ensure the scale probes multifaceted aspects of visual mental imagery, from static detail to kinetic liveliness.^[19]

Administration and Scoring

Testing Procedure

The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) is typically administered in a quiet setting and takes approximately 5 to 10 minutes to complete.^[20]^[21] It can be conducted individually or in small groups, such as introductory psychology classes, using a pencil-and-paper format or digital interface.^[1]^[20] Prior to beginning, the administrator provides a brief introduction explaining that the questionnaire assesses the clarity and liveliness of mental pictures formed in the "mind's eye," emphasizing that there are no right or wrong answers to encourage honest responses.^[9] Participants are assured of anonymity and confidentiality to reduce potential social desirability bias in self-reporting.^[22] The core procedure involves presenting the 16 items in four thematic groups, with participants instructed to visualize each specified scene—such as a relative's face or a rural landscape—before immediately rating its vividness on a 5-point scale.^[1] In the original format, ratings are collected first with eyes open and then repeated with eyes closed to capture differences in imagery under varying conditions.^[1] Responses are recorded directly after each visualization to minimize memory interference. For special populations, such as individuals with intellectual disabilities or low literacy, the VVIQ can be adapted through verbal administration, simplified language, and visual aids like sample images of varying clarity to facilitate understanding and rating.^[5]

Calculation and Interpretation of Scores

The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) yields a total score calculated by summing the ratings from its 16 items, each assessed on a 5-point scale where 1 indicates "perfectly clear and as vivid as normal vision" (high vividness) and 5 indicates "no image at all, you only 'know' that you are thinking of the object/scene" (low vividness).^[22] This results in a possible total score range of 16 to 80, with lower scores reflecting greater overall vividness of visual imagery. The original scale requires no additional reverse coding, as the numerical values directly correspond to decreasing vividness from 1 to 5.^[7] Subscale scores can be derived by averaging the four item ratings within each of the four scenes (a friend across a room, the rising sun, a shop counter, and a country scene), providing a profile of relative strengths in imagining specific types of visual content.^[9] For example, a lower mean score for the friend scene compared to the country scene might suggest stronger imagery for interpersonal versus naturalistic elements. These subscale averages facilitate targeted analysis but are typically secondary to the total score in standard applications. Interpretation of total scores draws from the original 1973 norms, categorizing individuals as follows: scores of 16–32 indicate high vividness, often associated with "object-imagers" who report detailed, lifelike mental pictures; 33–48 suggest moderate vividness; and 49–80 denote low vividness, akin to aphantasia-like experiences or a preference for verbal processing over visual. These thresholds highlight a continuum rather than discrete categories, with scores below 32 commonly used to identify extreme low-vividness cases in research.^[1] Early studies reported a bimodal distribution of scores that underscores distinct subgroups of high and low visualizers within the general population.^[16] This distribution supports the questionnaire's sensitivity to individual differences, though contemporary norms may vary slightly by demographic factors.

Psychometric Evaluation

Reliability Measures

The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) demonstrates strong internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha coefficients typically ranging from 0.85 to 0.90 across multiple studies, reflecting high item homogeneity in measuring visual imagery vividness. In the original validation, the questionnaire showed robust internal reliability, later calculated as alpha = 0.87, supporting the coherence of its 16 items.^[8] Subsequent research has confirmed this, with alphas averaging 0.87–0.89 across versions in meta-analytic reviews, indicating consistent performance of the scale's items in capturing a unified construct.^[2] Test-retest reliability for the VVIQ is generally high, evidencing temporal stability of scores over short intervals. In the seminal study, the correlation was r = 0.74 over a 2-week period (n = 68), demonstrating reliable repeatability for most respondents.^[8] Scores remain stable over months in high-imagers, though low-imagers may exhibit minor fluctuations due to variability in self-reported vividness, with overall coefficients around 0.74–0.82 in replicated assessments.^[23] Split-half reliability further underscores the VVIQ's unidimensionality, with coefficients approximately 0.80–0.85, calculated by correlating odd- and even-numbered items adjusted via the Spearman-Brown formula. This supports the questionnaire's focus on a single vividness dimension, as the halved items yield consistent estimates of overall imagery strength (n > 150 in early validations).^[8] Consistency between forms of the VVIQ is also strong, particularly when comparing the full 16-item version to abbreviated or revised 8-item variants. Correlations reach r = 0.92 between the original 16-item form and shorter adaptations (n = 50), indicating that reduced-item versions preserve the core psychometric properties without substantial loss of reliability.^[24]

Validity and Factor Analysis

The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) exhibits strong convergent validity with other self-report measures of mental imagery. Scores on the VVIQ show a positive correlation with Betts' Questionnaire upon Mental Imagery (r ≈ 0.57), indicating alignment with broader assessments of imagery vividness across sensory modalities.^[2] Similarly, the VVIQ correlates moderately with movement imagery questionnaires. Divergent validity is evidenced by low correlations between VVIQ scores and verbal ability tests (r < 0.20), which underscores the questionnaire's specificity to the visual imagery domain rather than general cognitive or linguistic skills.^[2] Factor analyses of the VVIQ have generally supported a unidimensional structure. Principal components analysis in the original development yielded a single-factor solution accounting for approximately 70% of the variance, confirming that the items load primarily on a unified construct of visual imagery vividness.^[2] Later cross-cultural validations, such as the 1995 Italian adaptation, identified a minor second factor related to spatial elements, though the primary visual vividness factor remained dominant.^[11] The VVIQ also demonstrates predictive validity in relation to performance on visuospatial tasks. Individuals with higher imagery vividness (lower VVIQ scores) perform better on mental rotation tasks, with a correlation of r = -0.45 between VVIQ scores and task accuracy, highlighting the questionnaire's utility in forecasting imagery-dependent cognitive abilities.^[25]

Applications in Research

Neuropsychological Correlates

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have demonstrated that individuals with higher vividness (lower scores) on the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) are associated with increased activation in the occipital lobe, particularly in higher-order visual cortices, during tasks involving mental imagery. For instance, research using fMRI to compare brain responses to imagined versus perceived stimuli found that vividness ratings from the VVIQ positively correlated with BOLD signal strength in fusiform and parahippocampal regions, though early visual cortices (BA 17/18) showed negative correlations with vividness.^[26] This suggests that individuals with more vivid visual imagery recruit posterior visual processing networks more robustly, reflecting top-down modulation from higher-order areas to sensory cortices.^[26] High VVIQ scores, often above 70 out of a possible 80, characterize aphantasia, a condition affecting an estimated 2-5% of the population where voluntary visual imagery is absent or severely diminished. Neuroimaging evidence links these high scores to altered connectivity within the default mode network (DMN), which supports internally generated mental simulations; specifically, aphantasic individuals exhibit reduced functional connectivity between DMN hubs like the medial prefrontal cortex and posterior cingulate, as well as diminished coupling with visual association areas.^[27] A 2021 meta-analysis of structural and functional MRI data confirmed that aphantasia is associated with hypoactivation and weakened DMN integrity during imagery tasks, highlighting a neural basis for impaired spontaneous visualization.^[27] Note: While the original VVIQ uses a scale where lower total scores indicate higher vividness, many contemporary studies (including those cited here) reverse the ratings for interpretation (higher scores = higher vividness). Claims in this section follow the original convention for consistency with the article. In synesthesia, particularly grapheme-color synesthesia, individuals with projector-type experiences tend to report higher vividness compared to associators or non-synesthetes. Studies have reported a positive correlation between VVIQ vividness ratings and synesthetic experience strength in projectors, indicating that heightened imagery capacity may facilitate the automatic, vivid projection of colors onto achromatic stimuli.^[28] This association is supported by fMRI evidence showing greater overlap between synesthetic and imagery-induced activation in visual cortices for high-vividness projectors, suggesting shared neural mechanisms for involuntary and voluntary visual experiences.^[29] Developmentally, VVIQ scores exhibit an increase with advancing age, corresponding to lower vividness in older adults compared to younger cohorts, potentially reflecting cumulative changes in neural efficiency. A large-scale analysis spanning age groups from childhood to late adulthood found that average VVIQ scores rise gradually after early adulthood, with statistically significant increases in older participants (e.g., mean scores rising from ~40-50 in young adults to ~60+ in those over 70).^[16] This age-related decline in vividness correlates with reductions in frontal-executive functions, such as working memory and inhibitory control, as measured by tasks like the Stroop test; early longitudinal studies from the 1980s onward have linked imagery vividness to prefrontal integrity, where diminished executive oversight may weaken the top-down control necessary for sustaining detailed mental images.^[30]

Clinical and Individual Differences Studies

The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) has been applied in clinical contexts, particularly in trauma-focused therapies for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where individual differences in imagery vividness influence treatment efficacy. In exposure therapy, an imagery-based intervention, higher ratings of imagery vividness during sessions predicted reduced PTSD symptom severity post-treatment, as measured by the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), with a standardized beta coefficient of -1.82 (p < .01) indicating that greater vividness was associated with better outcomes.^[31] Low vividness, conversely, was linked to poorer engagement with trauma memories and less symptom improvement, suggesting that individuals with low VVIQ vividness (high scores) may benefit from preparatory techniques to enhance imagery capacity before imagery rescripting or similar approaches. This relationship highlights VVIQ's utility in identifying patients at risk for suboptimal responses in therapies relying on mental visualization, such as imagery rescripting for PTSD.^[32] Beyond clinical applications, VVIQ scores reveal individual differences in creativity and occupational inclinations. High vividness (low VVIQ scores) correlates positively with divergent thinking, a core component of creativity, with a meta-analysis of studies from the 1990s and earlier reporting a consistent but modest association (mean r ≈ 0.21 across nine studies, six using VVIQ). For instance, research from the 1990s demonstrated correlations around r = 0.35 between vividness and performance on divergent thinking tasks, such as generating novel uses for objects, underscoring how vivid visual imagery facilitates idea generation. Similarly, professionals in artistic fields, such as visual artists, tend to exhibit higher vividness (lower VVIQ scores) than population norms, reflecting enhanced imagery abilities that support creative production; a study of 14 artists found their mean VVIQ vividness significantly higher than norms, linking vivid imagery to professional success in the visual arts.^[33]^[34] Gender differences in VVIQ performance are subtle but consistent, with females generally reporting slightly higher vividness (lower scores) than males. A meta-analysis aggregating data from multiple studies revealed a small female advantage, with mean VVIQ scores for females approximately 2 points lower than males (effect size d = 0.13), potentially influencing applications in sex-specific therapeutic or creative assessments.^[35] These differences, while modest (typically 3-5 points in individual samples), suggest that women may experience marginally stronger visual imagery, which could inform tailored interventions in clinical settings.^[35] Research on VVIQ in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) yields variable results, reflecting heterogeneity in imagery abilities among individuals. Earlier studies, such as a 2010 investigation of high-functioning adults with ASD, found inconsistent patterns, where some exhibited notably low vividness (high VVIQ scores) compared to neurotypical controls, though overall group differences were not uniform. More recent work emphasizes the need for individualized assessment, as not all autistic individuals show reduced imagery. These findings position VVIQ as a tool for exploring imagery variations in ASD, aiding in personalized therapeutic strategies.^[36]

Limitations and Criticisms

Methodological Challenges

The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) relies heavily on self-reported assessments, which are susceptible to subjectivity biases, including demand characteristics where participants may respond based on perceived expectations rather than genuine experience, and metacognitive inaccuracies in evaluating one's own imagery capabilities.^[37] Early critiques highlighted how such introspective measures can be influenced by participants' preconceptions about what constitutes "vivid" imagery, potentially leading to inconsistent or inflated reporting.^[22] Additionally, social desirability bias has been shown to correlate with VVIQ scores, particularly with self-deceptive enhancement tendencies, suggesting that individuals may overreport vividness to align with socially favorable self-perceptions.^[38] A notable limitation of the VVIQ's design is its proneness to ceiling and floor effects, where the five-point Likert scale compresses responses at the extremes, hindering differentiation among individuals with highly vivid or minimally vivid imagery. This positive skewness in scores, with many participants clustering at the low end, limits the questionnaire's ability to capture the full range of visual imagery variation, as noted in factor analytic studies that revealed a single-factor structure but underscored the scale's inadequacy for extreme cases.^[37] Such effects reduce the instrument's sensitivity for research involving high-imagers, where subtle differences in vividness are theoretically important. The VVIQ's primarily introspective nature also poses challenges in behavioral validation, as self-reported vividness scores often fail to correlate with performance on objective tasks, such as visual memory recall or spatial manipulation exercises presumed to rely on imagery. For instance, studies examining links to memory tasks like free recall, drawing reproduction, and spatial recognition have found no significant relationships between VVIQ scores and behavioral outcomes, questioning the questionnaire's external validity as a direct measure of functional imagery ability.^[39] This disconnect highlights a broader issue: while the VVIQ excels in capturing subjective experience, it lacks robust ties to observable behavioral or neuropsychological indicators, such as eidetic memory tests or reaction times in imagery-based paradigms.^[37] The short form of the VVIQ, consisting of 8 items, introduces trade-offs by prioritizing brevity and ease of administration over comprehensive assessment, potentially reducing sensitivity to nuanced individual differences in imagery vividness. Although it maintains a strong correlation with the full 16-item version (r = 0.92), the abbreviated scale exhibits lower internal consistency (Cronbach's α ≈ 0.86 compared to 0.88 for the full form), which may compromise its reliability in detecting subtle variations.^[40] This sacrifice of depth for speed limits its utility in detailed clinical or experimental contexts requiring high precision.^[37]

Cultural and Demographic Considerations

The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) exhibits cross-cultural variations in reported scores, highlighting the need for culturally sensitive adaptations to ensure validity across diverse populations. Studies comparing Eastern and Western samples have found lower mean VVIQ scores in Eastern groups, indicative of increased self-reported imagery vividness. For instance, a Japanese sample reported a mean score of 41.17 (SD = 8.12), compared to mean scores around 62 in UK control samples.^[41]^[42] These differences underscore the importance of validating translated versions, such as the Japanese adaptation, which has demonstrated adequate reliability but requires consideration of cultural contexts in imagery reporting.^[43] Age-related changes significantly impact VVIQ performance, with vividness declining across the lifespan and necessitating age-adjusted interpretive norms. Empirical data reveal a progressive decrease in scores from adolescence to later adulthood; for example, mean scores drop from 64.96 (95% CI [62.66–67.27]) in the 12–16 age group to 40.80 (95% CI [38.09–43.51]) in the 51–60 group, representing a decline of over 20 points. This pattern persists beyond age 60, where further reductions are observed, potentially linked to cognitive aging processes, emphasizing the value of normative data stratified by age for accurate assessment.^[16] Socioeconomic factors pose equity challenges in VVIQ administration, particularly for low-SES groups with limited literacy or access to written assessments. Research on similar self-report imagery tools indicates that standard written formats may disadvantage individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds due to reading barriers, leading to underrepresentation or biased scores. Adaptations, such as verbal administration protocols, have been proposed and tested in related psychometric contexts to enhance inclusivity, though specific VVIQ studies remain sparse; one 2015 exploration of imagery measures in diverse populations suggested verbal instructions improve completion rates and score reliability in low-literacy settings.^[44] Regarding neurodiversity, the VVIQ's reliance on self-reported vividness presents challenges for identifying conditions like aphantasia, where individuals may struggle to accurately gauge or articulate their imagery absence. High scores (e.g., ≥64) are commonly used as a threshold for aphantasia, but discrepancies between self-reports and objective tasks, such as visual memory or perceptual tests, have raised concerns about subjective bias and under- or over-identification. In response, 2020s research has advocated for supplementary objective measures, including behavioral assays like image generation tasks or neuroimaging correlates, to validate VVIQ findings and better accommodate neurodiverse populations.^[43]

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Sep 1, 2013 · There are different types of synesthetes, such as projector and associator types, and not all synesthetes are created equal.
[30]
The interaction of synesthetic and print color and its relation to visual ...
For this reason, we also used the same measure of the vividness of visual imagery (VVIQ) to test for a correlation between synesthetic congruency effects and ...
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Visual imagery vividness declines across the lifespan - ResearchGate
Dec 7, 2021 · We found a novel developmental pattern describing a declining ability to elicit vivid visual mental images in the group averages of different ...
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Imagery Vividness Ratings during Exposure Treatment for ... - NIH
This is the first known study to examine the impact of imagery vividness on outcomes of trauma-focused exposure therapy for PTSD in a sample of both men and ...Missing: VVIQ | Show results with:VVIQ
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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315808795_Mental_imagery_and_creativity_A_meta-Analytic_review_study
[34]
Gender differences in the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire
... McKelvie's conclusion that there are no gender differences in VVIQ scores. Methodological problems with McKelvie's argument are reviewed, and a meta-analysis ...
[35]
Visual mental imagery abilities in autism - Bled - Wiley Online Library
Jul 11, 2024 · Visual mental imagery abilities are in line with an atypical perceptual functioning in autism, possibly reflecting an increased weight of perception-based ...Missing: VVIQ | Show results with:VVIQ
[36]
What is wrong with imagery questionnaires? - ResearchGate
Aug 7, 2025 · ... Mental imagery was assessed in 53 prosopagnosics and 88 controls with the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) by Marks [40], ...
[37]
Vividness of visual imagery and social desirable responding - PubMed
Here we report the analysis of data correlating the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ; Marks, Journal of Mental Imagery, 19, 153-166, 1973) with ...Missing: 16- item r= 0.92 1980
[38]
An inquiry into the construct validity of the Vividness of ... - PubMed
Scores on the VVIQ were statistically unrelated to performance on any of the memory tasks demonstrating a lack of support for construct validity as a measure of ...Missing: behavioral validation
[39]
Internal Consistency and Construct Validity of Two Versions of the ...
Oct 1, 2011 · The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ; Marks, 1973) is the questionnaire most extensively used to measure imagery vividness, but two newer ...
[40]
Reported visual imagery and apparent motion: An event-related ...
Aug 10, 2025 · ... mean age = 20.70 years,. SD = 3.24) completed the Japanese version of the VVIQ. (mean VVIQ score = 41.17, SD = 8.12). The VVIQ is. comprised of ...
[41]
[PDF] Assessing visual mental imagery abilities in cerebral visual impairment
Apr 24, 2025 · We found that individuals with CVI had significantly lower VVIQ scores (mean = 41.84 ± 18.61 SD) than controls (mean = 62.48 ± 13.07 SD), after ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[42]
Initial support for the role of affective states, vivid mental imagery ...
Aug 7, 2025 · Blouin-Hudon and Pychyl (2015), in a study on the role of emotional states, clear mental imagery, and future self-continuity in predicting ...