Can the VVIQ diagnose aphantasia?

The VVIQ alone is often insufficient to diagnose aphantasia. Research shows discrepancies between VVIQ scores and how people self-identify. A low (or high, depending on scale) visual imagery score is useful information, but a full picture usually benefits from more than one type of assessment and from considering other senses.

Does the Imagination Index replace the VVIQ?

No. The Imagination Index includes visual imagery measurement similar in spirit to the VVIQ and adds five other sensory dimensions. If you only need a quick visual-only snapshot (e.g. for research), the VVIQ is still the standard. If you want to understand your imagination across all senses, the full assessment is the better fit.

Why does the VVIQ use a single score?

The VVIQ was designed to give one global measure of visual imagery vividness. That simplicity is a strength for research and screening, but critics note that a single score can obscure differences in subcomponents of vividness and may describe underlying cognitive and neural processes too coarsely. Multisensory profiles avoid reducing imagination to one number.

2026-02-22

Imagination Index vs VVIQ: When to Use Which

If you're curious about your imagination, you'll quickly run into two kinds of tools: those that measure only the mind's eye (like the VVIQ) and those that measure multiple senses and give you a profile (like the Imagination Index). Both are valid. The difference is what you want to learn and how you plan to use the result. This guide lays out what each does, what the research says about the VVIQ's limits, and when to choose which.

What the VVIQ Is and What It Measures

The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) was developed by psychologist David Marks in 1973 and is the most widely used tool for measuring visual imagery vividness. It has 16 items: you imagine specific scenes (e.g. a relative's face, a shop, a sunrise, a countryside) and rate each on a 5-point scale. In the original version, lower scores mean clearer imagery (1 = "perfectly clear and as vivid as normal vision") and higher scores mean weaker or no imagery (5 = "no image at all, you only 'know' you are thinking of the object"). A revised VVIQ2 (1995) uses 32 items and reverses the scale so higher scores mean higher vividness.

The VVIQ gives a single global score for visual imagery. It has shown sufficient retest and internal reliability and is used to categorize people (e.g. low vs high imagery, or aphantasia vs typical vs hyperphantasia). Researchers use it before or after experiments to control for imagery ability. For a quick, visual-only snapshot, the VVIQ is the standard. More detail on its history and use: How is imagination measured? and VVIQ and beyond.

What the Research Says About the VVIQ's Limits

The VVIQ is useful but has well-documented limitations:

Single global score. The questionnaire produces one number. That can describe cognitive and neural processes too coarsely and miss variation in how vividness shows up from one moment or scenario to the next. Some studies suggest that trial-based vividness ratings (rating imagery right after each task) can be more reliable and a more direct way to capture reportability.
Subcomponents of vividness. The VVIQ is a global measure that can obscure differences on subcomponents that make up vividness—for example, clarity vs stability vs controllability. So two people with the same total score might still differ in important ways.
Construct validity. Some researchers have questioned the VVIQ's construct validity on empirical grounds. A full picture of its strengths and limits still relies on broader literature review.
Not a diagnostic. The VVIQ alone is often insufficient to diagnose people who report an inability to form visual imagery (e.g. aphantasia). There can be mismatches between VVIQ scores and how people self-identify, so it's better treated as one input, not a final verdict.

None of this means the VVIQ is bad. It means it's a narrow, visual-only tool with the usual limits of self-report. For "How strong is my mind's eye?" it's a solid answer. For "How do I imagine in general?" or "Do I have aphantasia?" you get a clearer picture by adding context and, when relevant, other senses.

What the Imagination Index Adds

The Imagination Index is built on the idea that imagination is multisensory. It measures six dimensions: visual, auditory, motor, olfactory, gustatory, and tactile imagery. You don't get one number; you get a profile—where you sit on each sense. That matters because:

Someone can have low or no visual imagery and still have strong auditory or motor imagery. A visual-only score would miss that and can wrongly suggest "no imagination."
Creativity, memory, and how you work depend on which senses you use. A full profile helps explain strengths and preferences.
Validated multisensory tools (e.g. Psi-Q, VAIQ, VMIQ, VOIQ) exist in the literature; the Imagination Index applies that idea in one assessment so you see all six dimensions in one place.

So the Imagination Index doesn't replace the VVIQ; it extends the idea—visual plus five other senses—and avoids reducing your imagination to a single score.

When to Use the VVIQ (or a VVIQ-Style Section)

Use the VVIQ or a visual-only assessment when:

You only care about visual imagery (e.g. for a study or a quick check of the mind's eye).
You want a short, standardized measure that researchers and clinicians recognize.
You're comparing yourself to published norms or cutoffs that are based on the VVIQ.

Many people first discover aphantasia or hyperphantasia through a VVIQ-style questionnaire. That's a good start. If you then want to know how you imagine in sound, movement, and the rest, a multisensory assessment is the next step.

When to Use the Imagination Index

Use the Imagination Index when:

You want to know how you imagine across all six senses, not only vision.
You're trying to understand why you're strong in some areas (e.g. music, sport, language) even if your visual imagery is low.
You want a single profile you can revisit and compare over time, with optional deeper reporting.
You prefer not to reduce imagination to one number and want to avoid the limits of a single global score.

The core assessment is free and takes about 12 minutes. You get one Imagery Profile; paid reporting adds more detail and context.

Bottom Line

VVIQ: One score, visual only. Best when you only need the mind's eye and want a standard, quick measure. Limited by a single global score and by self-report; not sufficient alone for diagnosis.
Imagination Index: Six dimensions, one profile. Best when you want the full picture—visual plus auditory, motor, and other senses—and when you care about learning, memory, and creativity across the imagination spectrum.

Choose the VVIQ when visual imagery is the only question. Choose the Imagination Index when the question is "How do I imagine?" and you want the full answer.

Further reading: VVIQ reliability and trial-based measures – PMC; VVIQ and aphantasia identification – Frontiers; VVIQ construct and subcomponents – Hogrefe; VVIQ construct validity – PubMed.