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The VVIQ measures visual imagery vividness only and returns one score. The Imagination Index measures all six senses—visual, auditory, motor, smell, taste, and touch—and returns a full Imagery Profile with population percentiles. Use the VVIQ for research or mind's-eye-only questions; use Imagination Index when you want the complete picture.
Last updated: May 20, 2026
The VVIQ (Marks, 1973) is the most cited questionnaire for visual imagery. It answers one question well: how vividly do you see things in your mind's eye?
The Imagination Index extends that question across six senses. Neither tool replaces the other—they serve different goals. This page compares scope, output, and when each fits.
| VVIQ | Imagination Index | |
|---|---|---|
| Senses measured | Visual only | Six (visual + 5 others) |
| Typical length | 16 items (~5–10 min) | ~12 minutes |
| Output | Single visual score | Multi-sense Imagery Profile + percentiles |
| Cost | Free (many online versions) | Free core assessment |
| Best for | Research, visual screening | Full profile, mixed aphantasia, teams |
The original VVIQ uses 16 items. You imagine specific scenes—a relative's face, a shop front, a sunrise—and rate each on a 5-point vividness scale. Lower scores on the original scale mean clearer imagery; VVIQ-2 reversed this so higher means more vivid.
Decades of research use the VVIQ to categorize low, typical, and high visual imagery. It remains the standard when a study needs a quick, recognized visual measure.
Imagination Index applies the multisensory research tradition in one consumer-facing assessment. You answer structured prompts across all six senses and receive an Imagery Profile—not a single number—with optional percentile context from our population sample.
A VVIQ score alone is often insufficient. Frontiers in Psychology (2023) notes discrepancies between VVIQ scores and how people self-identify as aphantasic. The VVIQ is useful screening data for visual imagery—not a clinical diagnosis on its own.
Yes. Visual imagery is measured with structured prompts similar in spirit to the VVIQ, alongside five other sensory dimensions in the same ~12-minute session.
Yes—and it's common. A low VVIQ score does not predict auditory or motor imagery. Only a multisensory assessment shows whether other channels compensate.
Free core assessment · about 12 minutes · no credit card required. See your six-sense Imagery Profile and optional percentile ranking.
