Vividness, spatial manipulation, and spontaneous elaboration: A critical evaluation of the use of factor analysis by Lorenz and Neisser (1985)

Richardson, John T. E. (1988). Vividness, spatial manipulation, and spontaneous elaboration: A critical evaluation of the use of factor analysis by Lorenz and Neisser (1985). Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 26(5) pp. 437–440.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334907

Abstract

On the basis of factor analyses of questionnaire responses and psychometric test performance, Lorenz and Neisser (1985) argued for the existence of three distinct imagery factors: vividness and control, spatial manipulation, and spontaneous elaboration. Their use of factor analysis is criticized under three headings: the choice of the number of factors to be extracted, the choice of analytic model, and the choice of rotation model. On the basis of alternative analyses, it is concluded that the results of Lorenz and Neisser’s investigation tend to support the established distinction between introspective judgments of experienced imagery and objective performance in tests of spatial thinking, but that there is no evidence for a third factor of spontaneous elaboration.