David Pearson (1998) Imagery Need not be Blind to Fail
. Psycoloquy: 9(34) Cognitive Illusion (3)
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Psycoloquy 9(34): Imagery Need not be Blind to Fail
IMAGERY NEED NOT BE BLIND TO FAIL
Commentary on Margolis on Cognitive-Illusion
David Pearson
Department of Psychology
University of Aberdeen
Aberdeen AB24 2UB, UK.
d.g.pearson@abdn.ac.uk
Abstract
Margolis (1998) argues that the mental rotation essential
for an illusory collision in a Tychonic system cannot be "seen,"
because if conscious imagery represented the rotation the illusion
would be immediately dispelled. However, a number of research
studies have demonstrated circumstances in which individuals can
fail to discover quite simple insights on the basis of mental
imagery alone. Rather than arising from a form of "imagery
blindsight," the persistence of the illusion can be accounted for
by existing cognitive theories of mental discovery.
Keywords
blindsight, cognitive illusion, mental image, persuasion,
psychology of science.
References
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- Cornoldi, C. Logie, R.H. Brandimonte, M.A. Kaufmann, G. and Reisberg D. (1996; Ed.), Stretching the imagination: Representation and transformation in mental imagery. New York: Oxford University Press.
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- Margolis, H. (1998) Tycho's Illusion: How It Lasted 400 Years, and What That Implies About Human Cognition PSYCOLOQUY 9 (32) ftp://ftp.princeton.edu/pub/harnad/Psycoloquy/1998.volume.9/psyc.98.9.32.cognitive-illusion.1.margolis
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