"Close your eyes and picture an apple. Most people see something-a faint, slightly blurry image, less vivid than a real apple. A few, however, will see it as clearly as if it were sitting right in front of them. This ability is called hyperphantasia. Hyperphantasia, literally meaning "beyond imagination," refers to exceptionally vivid mental imagery. It is often described as the opposite of aphantasia, a condition in which people report little or no ability to form mental images."
"Psychologists have known for more than a century that mental imagery varies dramatically between individuals. In the late 19th century, Francis Galton famously asked people to describe how vividly they could imagine their breakfast table. Some reported near-photographic clarity; others saw nothing at all. Even Charles Darwin, Galton's cousin, fell at the vivid end of the spectrum. Yet for most of psychology's history, this variation was largely ignored. It was not until 2015 that aphantasia was formally named."
Hyperphantasia is exceptionally vivid mental imagery experienced by a small minority, sometimes as clear as real perception, and often involving multiple senses. About 2–3% of adults report imagery as vivid as real perception, with estimates higher in children. Some individuals describe cinematic inner worlds with sharp colors, fine detail, movement, and vivid imagined sounds, smells, tastes, or tactile sensations. Mental imagery exists on a spectrum from aphantasia (little or no imagery) to hyperphantasia, and historical reports and recent naming of aphantasia show that individual differences were long overlooked. Vivid imagery acts as an emotional amplifier.
Read at Psychology Today
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