A Look Into the Mind’s Eye: JCU Welcomes Professor Alfredo Spagna
On November 4th, John Cabot University welcomed Professor Alfredo Spagna for an open lecture titled “A Look Into the Mind’s Eye: Understanding Visual Imagery through its Role in High-level Cognition.” The talk, sponsored by the Department of Psychological and Social Sciences, provided several insights into the science behind Visual Mental Imagery (VMI) and the role VMI plays in our daily lives. Professor Spagna is a faculty member of the Department of Psychology at Columbia University, where he also serves as Director of Undergraduate Research and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Neuroscience and Behavior.
Visual Mental Imagery (VMI) is the ability to perceive visual stimuli in the absence of sensory input, or, in the words of Professor Spagna, “the capacity to initiate, maintain, and extinguish the content of visual percepts.” Its experience may range from involuntary phenomena, like hallucinations, to fully controlled imagery, such as deliberate visualization.
Professor Spagna briefly touched upon historical debates on the neural underpinnings of VMI, presenting evidence that challenged the classical hierarchical model of VMI as “perception in reverse,” in favor of a more heterarchical structure. He then illustrated the role of VMI in everyday experiences, providing examples from different areas of psychological inquiry.
First, he considered the connection between VMI and language. He presented experimental evidence indicating that bilingual individuals may experience VMI differently, either more or less vividly, depending on the language used to prompt it, be it a first or second language, thus demonstrating how it can shape both the quality and the content of mental imagery.
He then addressed the role of VMI in social perception, explaining how errors in Reality monitoring (i.e., distinguishing between internally vs externally generated information) may contribute to memory distortions that confirm existing stereotypes and perpetuate biases. At the same time, initial evidence suggests that VMI may also be a useful tool in reducing intergroup bias, for example by encouraging individuals to imagine contact with a member of a stigmatized group or merely imagining a counter-stereotypical group member.
The lecture concluded with a discussion of VMI in clinical conditions. Professor Spagna explained how disorders like Major Depressive Disorder, schizophrenia, and PTSD often involve disrupted mental imagery – like intrusive thoughts or flashbacks – and how VMI-based techniques like image rescripting can help patients reframe distressing mental images, offering therapeutic benefits.
