Images and Mental Maps

ABSTRACT “Image'’and “mental map'’appear frequently in the literature of environmental perception, often in an abstract or metaphorical sense. As psychological phenomena mental images do not play any essential role in spatial behavior, nor in abstract thinking. To account for spatial ability we need to postulate “schemata,'’rather than images and mental maps. The mental map, a special kind of image, does have its functions: for example, it is a mnemonic device; it allows mental practice which promotes assurance in subsequent physical performance; it is, like the real map, a way to organize data; it is an imaginary world, complex and attractive enough to tempt people out of their habitual rounds. To generate images focal attention seems necessary. In an inattentive state, skillful behavior in space is still possible under the guidance of somatic intelligence or schemata.