Mental Imagery and Creative Cognition

<p>The term “mental imagery” refers to the ability of the brain to simulate or re-create aspects of perceptual experience. Mental imagery is frequently attributed as playing an important role during creative cognition. This includes the development of scientific models, the conceptual stage of creative design, and many aspects of everyday problem-solving. This chapter discusses anecdotal reports suggesting a link between imagery and creative cognition and then reviews evidence from empirical studies in psychology examining the association between imagery and creativity under controlled circumstances. While the specific functionality of imagery remains an area of uncertainty, there is a considerable body of evidence supporting an important role for imagery during creativity. It is argued that a key benefit of imagery is that it allows the mental simulation of how we consciously perceive elements of the external world. These simulations allow artists and designers to anticipate the potential sensory impact a work might have on an audience prior to expending the effort to create it (for example, what a picture might look like or a musical composition might sound like), as well as to simulate events impossible to experience in real life, such as the scientific visualisations described by Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.</p>