Price, M.
University of Bergen, Psychology Faculty
A large minority of people report experiencing certain ordinal sequences such as numbers or calendar units as arranged in precise visuospatial layouts in imaginal or peripersonal space. The phenomenon has been described since the time of Galton at the end of the 19th century but recent years have seen a steady increase in experimental studies of these experiences. Most of this research has considered these so-called spatial forms as a variety of synaesthesia (sequence-space synaesthesia), noting many aspects of the experiences that conform to standard criteria of synaesthesia. However there are several respects in which spatial forms might be better thought of as overlearned visuospatial images. I will review some of these aspects of spatial forms, drawing on both descriptive self-report data and behavioural data, and emphasizing the continuity of the phenomenon with standard intentional thought imagery. Topics that I will consider include the association between these experiences and various categories of visuospatial imagery, the manner in which spatial forms do or do not qualify as automatically mediated, and the extent to which the apparent idiosyncrasies of spatial forms are rational attempts to depict sequence information in a spatial manner.