The Generation of Involuntary Mental Imagery in an Ecologically-Valid Task.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Laboratory tasks demonstrate that incidental stimuli can trigger involuntary conscious imagery.
• The ecological validity of these findings in dynamic, real-world scenarios remains a concern.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if involuntary conscious imagery occurs under dual-task conditions.
• To determine if these effects manifest in ecologically valid, dynamic driving simulations.

Main Methods:

• Participants were trained to elicit stimulus-elicited involuntary imagery.
• Subjects viewed semi-automated driving simulations and were instructed to either respond to or suppress responses to street signs.
• Dual-task conditions included the n-back task and psychomotor vigilance task.

Main Results:

• Involuntary imagery was reported in a significant proportion of trials, even when participants attempted to suppress responses.
• These involuntary effects persisted under dual-task conditions.
• The findings suggest that involuntary imagery can occur in dynamic, ecologically valid settings.

Conclusions:

• Involuntary conscious imagery can arise during dual-task conditions in realistic driving simulations.
• Effective communication signals are vital for safe driver-vehicle interaction in semi-automated systems.
• The results provide valuable constraints for theoretical models of cognitive resources.