Evidence for the uniqueness of eidetic imagery.
This research examined the performance of eidetic subjects, classified by the standard self-report criteria, on a set of objective and subjective measures. Eidetic subjects were statistically superior to controls on an 'accuracy of report' test and a superimposition task, but these differences were not so large as to provide compelling evidence for the uniqueness of eidetic imagery. Further experiments investigated the effects of stimulus manipulations--type of interference and level of illumination--on, respectively, visual retention and duration of phenomenal image. The pattern of effects differed markedly between eidetic subjects and a control group matched on a measure of capacity for visual memory. These findings provide converging evidence for a qualitative distinction between eidetic imagery and visual memory that does not rely on differences in storage capacity. Eidetic imagery appears to be a long-lasting, percept-like experience which varies considerably in clarity and definition; its duration is critically dependent on level of illumination and its contents are easily disrupted by after-coming visual stimuli.
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003118:Color Perception; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D004538:Eidetic Imagery; D005556:Form Perception; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D012153:Retention, Psychology