What Is Mental Imagery?

Mental imagery is the ability to create sensory experiences in your mind without any external input—what psychologists describe as perceptual-like representations in the absence of direct stimulation. When you picture a beach, hear a song in your head, or imagine the feel of sand under your feet, you are using mental imagery. Research treats it as multimodal: it can be visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, gustatory, or motor/spatial, though most studies focus on the visual "mind's eye."

Most people assume imagery means "seeing." It doesn't. Imagery can involve any sense—and people differ widely in how vividly they experience each one.

It's Not Just Visual

Imagination runs across six sensory dimensions:

• Visual — pictures, scenes, colors, and spatial layout. Some people have near-photographic clarity; others get only faint or no internal images. Visual imagination is the one most often talked about.
• Auditory — inner music, voices, and sounds. You might replay a tune or rehearse a sentence in your head. Auditory imagination shapes how you learn languages and music.
• Tactile — texture, temperature, and touch. The imagined feel of wool or ice. Tactile imagination supports embodied cognition, product evaluation, and grounding.
• Olfactory and gustatory — smell and taste. Imagining coffee or lemon can be strong for some and absent for others. Olfactory and gustatory imagination shape memory, craving, and flavor expectation.
• Motor — the feel of movement and body position. Athletes and performers often rely on motor imagination when they "rehearse" in their head.

Your mix across these dimensions is your imagery profile. One person might have strong visual imagery and weak auditory; another the reverse. There is no single "normal."

How Mental Imagery Shows Up in Daily Life

Mental imagery isn't something you turn on only when you're daydreaming. It shows up in ordinary tasks.

When you follow directions like "turn left at the blue door, then it's the second building on the right," some people see the route in their mind as they listen. Others hold the instructions as a list of steps without a visual map. Both can get there—the process is different. When you remember a place you've been, you might replay it as a scene (visual), as a sequence of what you did (motor or verbal), or as a mix. When you prepare for a difficult conversation, you might hear yourself saying the words in your head (auditory) or feel your tone and pacing. Strong auditory imagination often helps with that; strong visual imagination might help you picture the room or the other person's face.

None of these strategies is wrong. They reflect how your brain represents information. The trouble starts when we assume everyone imagines the same way—and when we judge ourselves for not "seeing" or "hearing" the way others do.

Mental Imagery vs. Perception

Mental imagery is not the same as actually seeing or hearing. When you imagine a face, your eyes don't receive new light; when you imagine a melody, no sound enters your ears. Imagery is internally generated. Research shows that similar brain regions can be active during perception and imagery, but imagery is typically less vivid and more fragile than real perception. That's why people often say "I can imagine it, but it's not like really seeing it." The line between strong imagery and perception can feel blurry for some; for others, the difference is obvious because their imagery is faint or absent. Both experiences fall within the normal imagination spectrum.

Why It Matters

Imagery is tied to memory, learning, creativity, and planning. When someone says they "see it clearly" and you don't, that difference is often visual imagery. When you excel at replaying conversations or melodies in your head, that is auditory imagery at work.

Understanding where you fall helps explain how you learn best, why certain tasks feel easier or harder, and why others sometimes seem to operate in a different mental space. It also clarifies that low vividness in one sense does not mean low creativity or capability—imagination spans many forms.

Can Mental Imagery Change?

Many people report that their imagery varies with context: stress, fatigue, or focus can make it stronger or weaker. Some people also report that deliberate practice—for example, regularly trying to form mental images or replay sounds—can increase vividness or control over time. Research supports that structured imagery training can improve self-reported vividness for many people, with caveats. So a single snapshot of your imagery is useful, but it isn't necessarily fixed for life. If you're curious how you compare across all six senses now, and optionally over time, a structured assessment gives you a baseline.

What You Can Do Next

You can get a clear picture of your own imagery across all six senses. The Imagination Index assessment takes about 12 minutes and gives you a personalized Imagery Profile. No cost to take it and see your results.

Further reading: Mental imagery – PMC; Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Mental Imagery.