Conclusions

Abstract

The preceding chapters have attempted to summarise a great deal of experimental research. Indeed, a substantial amount of research resources has been devoted to the investigation of mental imagery during the last twenty years. This book has been concerned only with that portion of this research which bears upon the nature and function of human memory; this has certainly been a major focus of experimentation and theorising, but other important areas have had to be excluded. It is clear that research on mental imagery has given rise to a great many facts and ideas which have proved most interesting and useful to cognitive psychologists, and the heuristic value of investigating mental imagery and its role in human memory cannot be seriously questioned. However, what assessment can one now make of the theoretical proposals which have been made during the course of that research?