The terms eidetic memory and photographic memory are usually used interchangeably, but they are also distinguished. The word eidetic comes from the Greek word, eidos "visible form". When the conception are distinguished, eidetic memory is offered to arise in a small number of children and broadly not found in adults, while true photographic memory has never been demonstrated to exist. But we do know that this rare form of imagery is truly remarkable in its clarity, in its detail, and in its completeness.Eidetic memory more ordinarily called photographic memory or solution recall is the ability to recall an belief from memory with high precision for a brief period after seeing it only once, in addition to without using a mnemonic device.Īlthough the terms eidetic memory as well as photographic memory are popularly used interchangeably, they are also distinguished, with eidetic memory referring to the ability to see an thing for a few minutes after this is the no longer introduced and photographic memory referring to the ability to recall pages of text or numbers, or similar, in great detail. We don't know why it declines at the end of childhood. In short, then, eidetic imagery remains a real puzzle. But there is no indication that their memories are photographic in the rather amazing way that we see in true cases of eidetic imagery. In some cases, they are extremely adept at discovering relationships (for example, relationships among numbers, helping to recall those numbers later on). Thus people who are described as having photographic memory often rely on mnemonics similar to the ones we described in Chapter 7. Their skill lies in an ability to organize material in memory, rather than in storing it in pictorial form. But the memory experts are relying on altogether different capacities. Eidetic imagery itself does seem, in obvious ways, photographic it does sound like the young child, quoted above, is inspecting a photo. Contrary to popular belief, memory experts people with so-called "photographic memory" do not have eidetic imagery. In any case, there is no reason to believe that this type of imagery is especially useful. The reason for this age-related decline is not obvious, but plausibly may derive from the fact that children rely more on imagery in their thinking, perhaps because their verbal and conceptual memory systems are not yet fully developed (e.g., Kosslyn, 1980, 1984). Adults with eidetic imagery certainly exist, but they seem to be fewer than children with this capacity. (It is difficult to find people with eidetic imagery in order to study them!) Researchers estimate that only 5 percent of all children are capable of some degree of eidetic imagery the extraordinary clarity of imagery evident in the case just quoted is probably rarer still. This sort of imagery is quite rare, and this is part of the reason we know relatively little about it. There are some leaves in the upper left-hand corner where the tree is (Haber, 1969, p. She's got blonde hair and a red hair band. And I can see the girl with a green dress. One on the right has green leaves, red flower on bottom with yellow on top. There's about three stems but you can see two pairs of flowers. I see the cat with stripes around its tail.Įxperimenter: Can you count those stripes?Įxperimenter: You're counting what? Black, white, or both?Ĭhild: And I can see the flowers on the bottom. Here is part of that description the child was at this point staring at a blank easel:Įxperimenter: Do you see something there?Ĭhild: I see a tree, gray tree with three limbs. The ten-year-old child in this study plainly had eidetic imagery he had been shown a picture from Alice in Wonderland (Panel A) for thirty seconds, and, after the picture was taken away, was asked to describe what he saw. This is imagery characterized by a truly photographic vividness, and can be exemplified by the following bit of dialog. However, this capacity for ordinary visualizing pales alongside of the extraordinarily clear and detailed imagery that psychologists call eidetic imagery. Exploring Contemporary Psychology: Eidetic ImageryĬhapter 8 describes the human capacity for visual imagery a capacity for creating quasi-perceptual representations that can be used in support of memory and problem-solving.
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