As creatures that rely heavily on vision, it is not surprising that visual mental imagery and imagery in general is a subject that should be very familiar to most people. An interesting question, however, concerns the degree to which visual mental imagery plays a role in cognition. The quasi-pictorialist approach asserts that imagery plays an important role in mental processes. Another approach, descriptionism, maintains that visual mental images are actually just descriptions containing symbolic information and play no substantial role in cognition. I would argue that whether or not the images resemble what they depict, all forms of imagery are vital to human intelligence. Imagery helps humans perform many everyday tasks. It has uses that cannot be imitated by descriptions alone, aids in learning, aids memory recall, and has played a role in many human advances. Much experimental evidence has emerged over the years to support the quasi-pictorialist position. Furthermore, these experiments also go a long way in showing how visual mental images are useful for everyday use and for many other activities. The first of these experiments was carried out on mental rotations. Research showed that subjects could mentally rotate three-dimensional objects in their heads. Although the time required to achieve this varies depending on the complexity of the task, the very fact that subjects can perform mental rotations for such a complex task shows the value of mental imagery for problem solving and manipulation. three-dimensional objects. Since we live in a three-dimensional world, this skill is absolutely vital. Without this, people would have great difficulty judging the result... middle of article... mental image. " Psychology Today. Pg. 23-28. Pani, John R. and Brewer, William F. (1996). “Reports of Mental Imagery in Long-Term Memory Retrieval.” Consciousness and Cognition. Volume 5 (Issue 3). new fine motor skills”, Journal of Neuroscience Vol 74 (number 3): Images [lecture notes] Waterloo, Ontario: University of Waterloo Smith, Mark K. (2008). Multiple intelligences and education. Retrieved from < http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm> April 4, 2010. Thagard, Paul (2005): Introduction to cognitive science... 1-53.