Incidence of anauralia and aphantasia, and associations of sensory imagery with measures of personality and well-being in a large New Zealand sample

Abstract

The incidence of anauralia (absence of auditory sensory imagery-see Hinwar & Lambert, 2021) and of aphantasia (absence of visual sensory imagery) were evaluated in a large-scale survey study (New Zealand Attitudes and Values Survey: N = 32,876; see https://www.psych.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/new-zealand-attitudes-and-values-study.html). In this large and representative sample of the New Zealand population the incidence of anauralia was 0.78%, while that of aphantasia was 0.79%. Anauralia and aphantasia tended to co-occur: approximately half of participants reporting an absence of imagery in one modality, also reported an absence of imagery in the other. Similarly, hyperauralia (clear auditory imagery) and hyperphantasia (vivid visual imagery) tended to co-occur: 77-79% of participants who reported clear and vivid imagery in one modality also reported clear and vivid imagery in the other. Nevertheless, dissociations were also observed: 5.6% of anauralics reported experiencing highly vivid visual imagery, and 16.5% reported typical visual imagery. Similarly, 7.3% of aphantasics reported experiencing very clear auditory imagery, and 23.8% reported typical visual imagery. Hence, strong dissociations between visual and auditory imagery were seen, albeit with low frequency. Controlling for age, an absence of both auditory and visual imagery was associated with lower Agreeableness/Empathy (Mini IPIP6), greater perfectionism, reduced self-esteem and life satisfaction, and increased psychological distress (Kessler-6). However, these differences were driven primarily by self-reported visual imagery: individuals reporting anauralia did not differ reliably from those reporting typical auditory imagery, with respect to agreeableness/empathy, perfectionism, self-esteem, life satisfaction or psychological distress, when visual imagery scores were controlled (as a covariate). In contrast, aphantasia was associated with higher perfectionism, lower self-esteem and higher psychological distress, when auditory imagery scores were controlled statistically. Theoretical implications of these findings are considered. REFERENCE Hinwar, R.P. & Lambert, AJ. (2021). Anauralia: The silent mind and its association with aphantasia. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 744213. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.744213