ReachingOut With the Imagination

摘要

It has been said that the imagination is a powerful tool. We show here that, in reality, this claim may be more than simply a metaphor. Recent studies have revealed that items near the hands benefit from enhanced visual analysis (Abrams, Davoli, Du, Knapp, & Paull, 2008; Reed, Grubb, & Steele, 2006; Schendel & Rob_ertson, 2004). These results are thought to reflect the importance of representing objects and events that are in close proximity to the body, such as objects that are soon to be grasped or those that must be avoided. Quite naturally, all previous studies that have found perceptual enhancement near the hands have had subjects assume a posture in which their hands were placed close to a visual display. We show here for the first time that the same benefits can occur when one simply imagines such postures.