What is the best test for mental imagery?

There is no single 'best' test—it depends on what you want to know. The VVIQ is the standard for visual imagery vividness; the MIQ and related tools are best for motor/kinesthetic imagery. For a profile across multiple senses (visual, auditory, motor, etc.), you need a multisensory assessment. A 2022 systematic review found that among many tools, the VVIQ, SIAQ, and MIQ-series had sufficient psychometric support; most others had limited or indeterminate validation.

How do researchers assess imagination across different senses?

Researchers use self-report questionnaires that rate vividness, frequency, or control in visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, gustatory, and kinesthetic imagery. They often categorize imagery into motor (movement without execution), mental or sensory (e.g. spatial, verbal-visual), and sometimes chronometry (timing). Tools are chosen by goal: VVIQ or SIAQ for general or visual baselines, MIQ-series for motor and sports, and multisensory instruments when the aim is to compare strength across senses.

Can I assess my imagination profile for free?

Yes. The VVIQ is available free online for a visual-only snapshot. For a fuller picture across six senses, the Imagination Index assessment offers a free core profile. Combining a visual tool like the VVIQ with a motor imagery questionnaire (e.g. MIQ) can also give you a broader baseline if you're doing it for personal insight rather than clinical use.

2026-03-04

Best Ways to Understand Your Imagination Profile

If you want to understand how you imagine—whether your mind's eye is strong or faint, how you compare in sound or movement—you're not alone. Researchers and clinicians have been measuring individual differences in mental imagery for decades. The best approach depends on what you want to learn: a quick visual snapshot, a focus on movement and performance, or a profile across several senses. This guide summarizes what the evidence says about the main tools and how to choose.

What "Understanding Your Profile" Means

Your imagery profile is the pattern of how strongly you experience mental imagery in each sense: visual, auditory, motor, and often olfactory, gustatory, and tactile. Some people have vivid visual imagery and weak auditory; others are the reverse. Many people don't know their pattern until they take a structured assessment. Understanding it can clarify why you learn or create the way you do, why certain instructions work or don't, and how you might use your strengths at work or in study. How imagination is measured in general is a good place to start; here we focus on the best-supported methods and how they fit together.

Validated Tools: What the Research Says

A 2022 systematic review looked at 65 mental imagery assessments across psychology, sports, and medicine. Most had insufficient or indeterminate psychometric quality (e.g. small samples, limited validation). Only a subset met "sufficient" criteria for reliability and validity in the authors' GRADE-style synthesis. Those are the ones worth leaning on when you care about evidence.

For Visual Imagery: The VVIQ

The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) has been in use since 1973 and remains the standard for visual imagery vividness. You imagine 16 scenarios (e.g. a relative's face, a sunrise, a shop) and rate each on a 5-point scale from "no image at all" to "as vivid as real vision." Scores are combined into a single number; very low scores are often used to identify aphantasia, and high scores can indicate hyperphantasia. The VVIQ is quick (about 5–15 minutes), self-administered, and free in research and many public contexts. It does one job well: it gives you a visual-only baseline. For more on its strengths and limits, see VVIQ and beyond and Imagination Index vs VVIQ.

For Multisensory (General) Imagery: The SIAQ

The Sports Imagery Ability Questionnaire (SIAQ) is a multisensory tool that assesses vividness across visual, auditory, and related modalities. It has shown sufficient psychometric properties in systematic reviews (e.g. COSMIN criteria) and is used when researchers or practitioners want a broader profile than the VVIQ alone—for example, to compare how strongly someone imagines in different senses. So if your goal is "how do I imagine in more than one sense?", the SIAQ is one of the few validated options in the literature.

For Motor and Movement Imagery: The MIQ Family and VMIQ-2

If you care about motor imagery—how vividly you imagine movements, body position, or physical actions—the Movement Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ), MIQ-R, MIQ-3, and Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire-2 (VMIQ-2) are the best-supported options. They rate ease, control, or vividness of imagining movements, often with separate subscales for visual and kinesthetic perspectives. They're widely used in sport and rehabilitation. So for a movement-focused understanding of your imagination (e.g. for athletes and performers), these are the tools with the strongest evidence.

How Researchers and Clinicians Use These Tools

Researchers typically categorize imagery into motor (movement without execution), mental/sensory (general vividness, spatial rotation, verbal-visual style, frequency), and sometimes chronometry (how mental and physical timing compare). They use checklists like COSMIN to judge content validity, internal consistency, and responsiveness. Clinicians choose by goal: VVIQ or SIAQ for general or sensory baselines (e.g. in therapy or screening), and MIQ-series for motor rehab or sports. When the aim is to see differences across senses (e.g. high visual, low auditory), multisensory tools help target interventions—for example, imagery enhancement in one modality. So "best" method depends on whether you want a single-sense snapshot or a profile.

Limitations to Keep in Mind

Few tools in the literature cover all six senses in one validated instrument. Many assessments were developed on student samples or small groups, so generalizability to other ages and contexts isn't always clear. Commercial or non-academic multi-sense assessments (including those that cover five or six senses) often lack peer-reviewed validation in systematic reviews—so if you use one, treat it as a practical profile tool rather than a clinical or research standard. For clinical interpretation (e.g. linking results to diagnosis or treatment), a qualified professional should be involved.

Putting It Together: What You Can Do

Visual only: Use the VVIQ (or a VVIQ-style section) for a quick, evidence-based snapshot of your mind's eye. Many free versions exist online.
Visual + motor: Combine the VVIQ with an MIQ or VMIQ-2 if you want to see both visual and movement imagery in a research-backed way.
Full profile across senses: For one place that measures visual, auditory, motor, and other senses and gives you a single Imagery Profile, the Imagination Index assessment is built for that. The core assessment is free and takes about 12 minutes; it complements the research tools above by covering dimensions that most validated instruments don't combine in one go.

No single method is "best" for everyone—only best for the question you're asking. If you want to know "how strong is my visual imagery?", start with the VVIQ. If you want "how do I imagine across the board?", use a multisensory approach and, when possible, tie it to the blog and imagination types so you can interpret your profile in context.

See Your Profile

The Imagination Index assessment gives you a structured profile across six senses in about 12 minutes. You get a single Imagery Profile and optional detailed reporting. Use it alongside—or after—reading about how imagination is measured and the spectrum so you know what the scores mean.

Further reading: Systematic review of imagery assessments – PMC; VVIQ – aphantasia.com/study; How is imagination measured?; Imagination Index vs VVIQ.