Associations of Visual and Auditory Imagery With Occupational Choice

Abstract

It is well known that self-reported sensory imagery varies widely between individuals. In this study we investigated the kinds of occupations followed by individuals who report very high and very low levels of visual and auditory imagery. The terms aphantasia and hyperphantasia have been coined to describe low or not existent visual imagery and extremely vivid visual imagery respectively. Recently the terms anauralia and hyperauralia have been used to describe auditory imagery in the same way. In previous work it has been reported that individuals who report experiencing aphantasia tend to follow occupations related to computers, mathematics and science, while those who report hyperphantasia tend to follow occupations related to the arts or design. Using data collected from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Survey (n= 34,131; see https://www.psych.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/new-zealand-attitudes-and-values-study.html) the association between aphantasia and computer, mathematics, and science occupations was replicated. However, further analyses indicated that the association was present for jobs related to computers and mathematics, but not for those related to science. A tentative association between aphantasia and occupations related to business and finance suggests this effect may be explained by a preference for occupations involving mathematics. The previously reported association between hyperphantasia and art/design jobs was not replicated. However, this may be due to the low availability of arts-related jobs in New Zealand. An additional finding in this study was that hyperphantasia was associated with jobs in the field of general management. For auditory imagery, none of the previously mentioned associations were replicated, indicating that visual imagery abilities have a stronger impact on occupation selection and that auditory imagery is a separate domain of mental imagery that requires further exploration.