The Perky effect is a phenomenon, named for the psychologist Mary Cheves West Perky, in which mental imagery and actual visual perception become confused with one another. Perky demonstrated the effect in what became known as her Banana Experiment, and concluded from it that perception is not merely a weak form of mental imagery, but that mental imagery can directly influence sensory perception itself.
Facts
Core ClaimSourced to the subject's own accountVivid mental imagery can be mistaken for actual sensory perception, so an imagined image can influence what a person believes they are seeing. 1 First Described YearSourced to the subject's own account Classification
Type of PhenomenonSourced to the subject's own account Sources
1. Cheves Perky (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPerky effect section, first paragraph
Her experiments indicated that when sensory input and mental imagery interact, mental imagery can be mistaken for sensory input.
Perky effect section, first sentence
The experiments performed by Perky in Titchener's lab in 1910 have been influential in the history of psychology and mental imagery research and are still being used today.
lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
In the same year, she performed the "Banana Experiment," which demonstrated how perception and visual imagery could be confused; a phenomenon known as the Perky Effect.
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