08 - Imagery & Illusions

Imagery & Illusions

© SPMM Course The above table has been pictorially represented below:

Imagery & Illusions The imagery is not a perception because there is no stimulus involved and no object perceived; it is essentially a fantasy. Imagery refers to images produced voluntarily with complete insight that they are mental, not external phenomena. They also lack the objective quality of hallucinations and normal sense perceptions. One form of imagery called eidetic imagery is considered to be a special ability of memory wherein visual images are drawn from memory accurately at will and described as if being perceived currently. This is noted in children (2-15% school goers) and may be a part of religious experiences; no pathological association is noted consistently. Illusions may be difficult to differentiate from hallucinations if the source of stimulus is difficult to trace – e.g. ‘Did I see the devil on the wall or from the wallpaper pattern?’ But, fortunately, these are qualitatively different and so eliciting the description patiently can help. There are three major types of illusions:

STIMULUS PERCEIVED OBJECT EXPERIENCE