Volu m e I - Purdue University Calumet

The second experiment of the current study will use the same methodology. We will add the
bizarre sentences to see if the findings remain the same or change. After this, another experiment will take
place and we will further research in this area by comparing mental imagery and perception to see if the
schematic and bizarreness effects occur with visual stimuli as they do with mental imagery. Chambers and
Reisberg furthered the imagery vs. perception debate with their 1985 study exploring ambiguous images.
They hypothesized that perception requires interpretation. When you are exposed to a stimulus, such as a
picture, you have to interpret what you are seeing. Chambers and Reisberg proposed that this is different
from mental imagery where in you don’t need to interpret anything because the image is created
purposefully. They explain this by stating that images are symbols. Consequently, perceptions of mental
images cannot be changed. The subject would instead form a new mental image. Perceptions of visual
stimulus on the other hand can be changed.
To show this, they performed a series of repetitive experiments involving reversible pictures,
referred to as ambiguous images. These reversible pictures include Chef/Dog, the Necker Cube, and the
Schroder Staircase, which were used for training, and the Duck/Rabbit picture, which was used during the
experimentation portion of the trial. The basic procedure required the subject to view a stimulus, mentally
construct that stimulus, and attempt to change their perception of the image. After this they would draw
the image from memory and again attempt to change their perception of it.
The first experiment began with the VES scale to ensure the subjects could form a mental image.
This scale assesses the extent to which they elaborate their visual images. Then training for figure reversal
occurred to make sure they could change their perceptions. Subjects were then shown the Duck/Rabbit
picture and told to form a mental image of this so that they could draw it later. Next, they were shown the
Chef/Dog image and asked to reverse it. Hints were given if the subject struggled. The purpose of this task
was to help the subject figure out how to change their mental image of the Duck/Rabbit picture in the next
task. Now, working with the mental image they created, subjects were asked to recall the Duck/Rabbit
20