A Framework and Open Questions on Imagination in Adults and Children

In this article we review work on mental imagery in adults and children. We argue that the fundamental issue of how we respond to a stimulus to create a descriptive, propositional scene description, and then render this description into an image is poorly understood. In addition to providing a new framework by which to address this issue, we highlight several other topics within the study of mental imagery that require further investigation. These include inhibiting irrelevant information and making inferences, knowing the difference between reality and imagination (or even beliefs and imagination), and point of view. We conclude by suggesting future directions of study to address these additional topics.