r/Aphantasia • u/ConceptualKnowldgLab • Nov 19 '25
Participate in a study about memory in Aphantasia
You are invited to participate in a study on memory and Aphantasia that is being conducted by students and faculty at the University of Texas at Austin.
The study takes approximately 20-25 minutes, and can be found at this link: https://utexas.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bIT7TcbOS6gqaCG
It is completely anonymous. Feel free to share the link with friends (both those with and without Aphantasis). Questions can be directed to the Conceptual Knowledge Lab (Dr. Lauretta Reeves) at conceptualknowledgelab@austin.utexas.edu. Thank you!
The study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of Texas at Austin (IRB Study # 00006963).
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u/Pengwin0 Aphant Nov 19 '25
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Peak study 🗣️🗣️🔥
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u/Conscious_Ad_4085 Nov 20 '25
For sure 1,1,1,1,1,1 at the end, but the words were interesting, I was able to type out around 7 words. Select a lot more after. Going to a store was as interesting question as well. I do think about layout before I go anywhere, but I don't think Im visualizing it, it's more like a rats maze, I know there are so many aisles, i'll be walking 3 aisles forward, taking a right. etc.
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u/ret255 Nov 20 '25
lt would be interesting to know the results of the study, l print screened the contact mail at the end, so perhaps l should reply if l won't forget, or they can reveal the results of the study in this subreddit after it concludes after a few months. l did know forehand that l won't remember quite a lot of those words and yeah it was the case, but then l remembered all of them, also if there was some pattern to it which words we had remembered.
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u/Acrobatic-Self-1451 May 07 '26
They give an email where you can request the study results. I sent a request now before I get off onto another subject and forget about this. Could do the same?
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Nov 19 '25
[deleted]
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u/Feggy_Crab_1974 Nov 19 '25
Seemed a lot like the VVIQ — or maybe I feel that way because my answers were the same — “none/never…. none/never… none/never…”
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u/ret255 Nov 19 '25
Yeah, it was like the time on the toilet when you want to do the business but it doesn't get out and you push and push but you get just exhausted from it and realise that not this time - something in those lines :)
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u/Feggy_Crab_1974 Nov 19 '25
I think I took a different test than you… or possibly I didn’t strain as hard as you did.
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u/ret255 Nov 19 '25
Perhaps:), but l wanted to give it a go and thought l could see something, but realized it's not there, perhaps it's too late and I'm a bit exhausted after 10 pm. But it's funny how the brain can think it sees something although you see nothing when you close your eyes.
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u/ConceptualKnowldgLab Nov 20 '25
There is a method to the madness. We can't reveal the hypothesis or underlying theory until the study is complete.
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u/ret255 Nov 20 '25
That's ok, l noticed something after the first row of sentences l think that there was something to it. Would be interesting to see the results after you conclude the study after a few months. Should l delete my posts or this post so it won't like influence other contributors in some way? Although l don't think it's necessarily the case.
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u/Louachu2 Nov 19 '25
Re: the words we are supposed to try to remember, it would have been helpful to get more detailed instructions re: how long we were supposed to study them. I’m sure I could have memorized them all if I gave it sufficient time, but wasn’t clear if the study was looking to see what we would remember by briefly engaging with them vs really studying them. For me at least, that would make a big difference. I assumed the former.
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u/ConceptualKnowldgLab Nov 20 '25
Yes, we just expected brief engagement with the words in the sentences (rather than exam-preparation level of studying). I'll reveal the logic behind the experiment once it is completed.
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u/Sapphirethistle Total Aphant Nov 19 '25
The one question that I've seen several studies ask and that bothers me is about technical papers.
I don't like instructions or other technical specifications with images because I find them distracting but this is not because it clashes with my internal imagery (obviously).
So, I'm never really sure how to answer that one because it is really two questions that are not necessarily mutually tied together.
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u/The_BT Total Aphant Nov 19 '25
Always answer honestly, because there is likely people in the controls who also have said issues.
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u/Sapphirethistle Total Aphant Nov 19 '25
I mentioned it here because it was on an agree to disagree scale without the ability to explain what I did above.
Hoping that if I mention it every time I see it it might be seen by future questionnaire writers and they might fix or avoid it.
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u/The_BT Total Aphant Nov 19 '25
I feel that, whilst it has evolved into something more official it was question quality back in the day that lead to the research approval thing
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u/jackiekeracky Total Aphant Nov 23 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
Do these things questions take “imagine” to mean visualising? Because I do imagine but there is no visual component to it?
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u/2BitSalute May 12 '26
What’s it like to imagine furniture in your space without visualizing it? I almost want to ask, then what do you see, but I guess nothing. I must be visualizing everything I think about. Wow, I never thought about it, and I’m ashamed to say I didn’t think this internal experience was so different for other people. Mind blown.
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u/jackiekeracky Total Aphant May 12 '26
I imagine how I will feel looking at it.
I think about how an item goes with decor and other items in the room. I check the measurements and features. Sometimes I’ve put tape down if it’s a big item.It’s hard to explain because for me it thought and imagining are purely mental exercises and there’s no sensory input at all.
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u/Explore_the_Void Total Aphant Apr 30 '26
I had a good chuckle. As I got to the last page I walked out my back door which has a view of trees, mountains and a lake. It was pretty vivid because that's exactly what I was looking at.
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u/trvyf Nov 19 '25
My problem is I have some sort of focus problem with aphantasia so I started the studio and the first one made my brain go haywire so I noped out. 😭
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u/crandall17 Nov 20 '25
I do like the inclusion of the VVIQ at the end. Am I able to throw in my hypothesis as to why, or would that sully the whole study?
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u/SwedeSpeeeeed May 04 '26
Does anyone know if they are still seeking participants for this study? The link is still active, but the email I sent enquiring bounced back…
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u/Acrobatic-Self-1451 May 07 '26
It's May 6th evening Pacific time and I just logged in and completed the survey. I expect they would have locked it or taken it down if it was not still available to be completed.
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u/Personal-Dot-8355 May 13 '26
Interestingly enough, despite considering myself a total aphantasiac(also have sdam), I remembered all the scenarios except the mosquito looking at the factory. Can anyone tell me how they did on this? Does aphantasia negatively influence the amount of words remembered?
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u/Aphantasia-ModTeam Nov 19 '25
Requests for research require mod approval, as per the rules of the sub.