Abstract：
Mental rotation tasks are frequently used as standard measures of mental imagery. However, aphantasia research has brought such use into question. Here, we assessed a large group of individuals who lack visual imagery (aphantasia) on two mental rotation tasks: a three-dimensional block-shape, and a human manikin rotation task. In both tasks, those with aphantasia had slower, but more accurate responses than controls. Both groups demonstrated classic linear increases in response time and error-rate as functions of angular disparity. In the three-dimensional block-shape rotation task, a within-group speed-accuracy trade-off was found in controls, whereas faster individuals in the aphantasia group were also more accurate. Control participants generally favoured using object-based mental rotation strategies, whereas those with aphantasia favoured analytic strategies. These results suggest that visual imagery is not crucial for successful performance in classical mental rotation tasks, as alternative strategies can be effectively utilised in the absence of holistic mental representations.
摘要：
心理旋转任务经常被用作心理意象的标准度量。然而,幻象研究使这种使用受到质疑。这里,我们评估了一大群人，他们缺乏视觉意象（phantasia）在两个心理旋转任务上：三维块形，和人类人体模型旋转任务。在这两项任务中，那些有阿凡达的人速度较慢，但比对照更准确的反应。两组都表现出响应时间和错误率作为角视差函数的经典线性增加。在三维块形旋转任务中，在对照组中发现了组内速度-准确性的权衡，而在泛音组中，速度更快的个体也更准确。控制参与者通常倾向于使用基于对象的心理旋转策略，而那些有幻象的人更喜欢分析策略。这些结果表明，视觉图像对于在经典的心理旋转任务中的成功表现并不重要，因为在没有整体心理表征的情况下，可以有效地利用替代策略。
