[Illustration]

CHAPTER IV

HOW TO TEST YOUR MENTAL IMAGERY

[Sidenote: _Finding Out Your Weak Points_]

We suggest that you now test your own reproductive imagination
with a view to determining your points of strength or weakness in
this respect. And in doing so please bear in mind that the
following questions are not asked with a view to determining what
you know about the subject of the question, but simply how
vividly--that is to say, with what life-like clearness--the
mental image is presented to your mind, how close it comes to a
present reality.

[Sidenote: _Tests for Visual Imagery_]

Go into a quiet room, close your eyes and try to bar from your
mind every distraction. Now then, ask yourself these questions:

VISUAL.--1. Can you remember just how your bedroom
looked when you left it this morning--the appearance of
each separate article of furniture and decoration, the
design and color of the carpet, the color of the walls,
the arrangement of toilet articles upon the dresser,
and so on? Can you see the whole room just as clearly
as if you were in it at this moment? Or is your mental
picture blurred and doubtful?

2. How clearly can you see the space that intervenes
between your house and some far-distant object? Have
you a clear impression of the visual elements that
determine this distance?

3. Can you see a bird flying through the air? an
automobile rushing down the street?

4. Can you imagine a red surface? a green surface? Try
each primary color; which is most distinct to your
mind's eye?

5. Can you see a smooth surface? a rough surface? a
curved surface? a flat surface? a cube? Does the cube
look solid?

6. When you memorize a poem do you remember just how
each word looked on the printed page?

[Sidenote: _Tests for Auditory and Olfactory Imagery_]

AUDITORY.--1. Can you in imagination hear your
door-bell ringing?

2. Can you form an auditory image of thunder? of waves
breaking on a rocky shore? of a passing street-car?

3. Can you mentally hear the squeak of a mouse? the
twitter of a bird? the breathing of a sleeping child?

4. Do these images come to you with the distinctness of
reality?

5. Can you distinctly remember a voice you have not
heard for a long time?

6. Can you recall the tones of an entire se