This is a bonus episode of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Download here.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/psychcrunch/20190409_PsychCrunch_Ep16_Mx1.mp3

Ella Rhodes, journalist for The Psychologist magazine, delves into the growing body of research exploring aphantasia – a condition she has personal experience of. While most people can see images formed in their minds, people with aphantasia draw a blank – what might this mean for autobiographical memory, face perception and imagination?

Our guests, in order of appearance, are: Zoe Pounder at the University of Westminster and Professor Adam Zeman at the University of Exeter.

Background resources for this episode:

This man had no idea his mind is “blind” until last week.

Mental rotation performance in aphantasia.

Loss of imagery phenomenology with intact visuo-spatial task performance: a case of “blind imagination”.

Lives without imagery – Congenital aphantasia.

The neural correlates of visual imagery vividness – An fMRI study and literature review.

The neural correlates of visual imagery: A co-ordinate-based meta-analysis.

On Picturing a Candle: The Prehistory of Imagery Science.

The Eye’s Mind – Zeman’s apahantasia research project.

A scientific measure of our visual imagination suggests it is surprisingly limited

Episode credits: Presented and produced by Ella Rhodes. Mixing Jeff Knowler. Music Sincere Love by Monplaisir. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work Tim Grimshaw.

Check out this bonus episode!

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Past episodes:

Episode one: Dating and Attraction

Episode two: Breaking Bad Habits

Episode three: How to Win an Argument

Episode four: The Psychology of Gift Giving

Episode five: How To Learn a New Language

Episode six: How To Be Sarcastic 😉

Episode seven: Use Psychology To Compete Like an Olympian.

Episode eight: Can We Trust Psychological Studies?

Episode nine: How To Get The Best From Your Team

Episode ten: How To Stop Procrastinating

Episode eleven: How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Episode twelve: How to Be Funnier

Episode thirteen: How to Study and Learn More Effectively

Episode fourteen: Psychological Tricks To Make Your Cooking Taste Better

Episode fifteen: Is Mindfulness A Panacea Or Overhyped And Potentially Problematic?

PsychCrunch is sponsored by Routledge Psychology.

Routledge interviewed PsychCrunch presenter Christian Jarrett about the aims of the podcast and engaging with the public about psychology research.