MENTAL IMAGE GENERATION OF SHAPES THROUGH OCULAR SCANNING MOTOR INTENTION

The purpose of these experiments was to study the contribution of ocul omotor processes to visual image construction and generation. In a fir st experiment, subjects scanned a square shape, then drew it with clos ed eyes. The results showed that both ocular and manual responses star ted from the same angle and moved into the same direction. When drawin g, subjects mentally pictured a complete square. In, a second experime nt, an irregular shape replaced the square. The results showed that re peated scanning of the outlines allowed an incidental learning of the shape and that subjects memorized their ocular movements rather than t he figure. When drawing, subjects serially imaged parts of the shape. To interpret the data, hypotheses concerning common processes underlyi ng both motor intention of ocular movements and visual image generatio n are suggested.