The Imagery Questionnaire: An Investigation of its Validity

Research investigated from three perspectives the construct validity of one of the most frequently used imagery measures, Marks' (1973) Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire. First, the performance of six self-reported “good” and six self-reported “poor” imagers derived from 63 initial respondents to the questionnaire was compared on a test of the recall of projected slides. Second, subject idiosyncratic and interpersonal uses of the imagery rating scale were examined through a scaling of projected slides procedure and an alternate forms test-retest paradigm. Finally, interviews about the nature of each subject's imaging experiences were conducted. Data indicated a lack of support for the questionnaire's validity.