Mental imagery yields stimulus-response compatibility.

The present paper provides evidence for stimulus-response (S-R) compatibility effects in visual mental images. In two experiments subjects either studied a simple map (Experiment 1) or read a verbal description of the same map (Experiment 2), and then responded after generating a mental image of the presented information. Responses were made in a crossed-hand and in an uncrossed-hand manner, and the S-R arrangements were compatible and incompatible. In both experiments response latencies were found to be faster for compatible than for incompatible S-R mappings, and the crossed-hand condition resulted in increased response latencies relative to the uncrossed-hand condition. The findings are discussed with respect to the processing mechanisms involved in imagery and perception.