“Evaluer la vivacità des images mentales dans différentes populations françaises. Evalutating the vividness of mental imagery in different French samples"

The aim of this article is to evaluate the vividness of visual imagery from three different sample groups: a contemporary dance group (n = 24), a group of modified state of consciousness experts (n = 24) and a group of students (n = 48). We argue that the mental imagery activity into low vigilance level and into a modified state of consciousness has a closed link mechanism with vividness of visual imagery. We show that the modified state of consciousness experts reached a significantly higher level of vividness open-eyes score than the group of students. This could mean that higher open-eyes score is a cognitive trait of hypnotic susceptibility linked to specific training. These results stem from research into the close relationship between imagery and perception. We present a French adaptation and a French translation of Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire, too. The VVIQ [Br. J. Psychol. 64 (1973) 17–24] is a questionnaire very used in clinical psychology and in cognitive psychology.