Visual Imagery and Preconscious Thought Processes

Introduction  The emphasis on "ego function" in psychoanalysis and experimental psychology has found major focus in the areas of perception, memory, and cognition. Methods of incidental stimulation, stemming from Poetzl's original work, have been devised so as to provide data for investigation of imagery formation, preconscious processes, the psychology of dreaming, and ego defense mechanisms.Fisher³ in a recent monograph which includes translations of the classic papers by Poetzl, and Allers and Teller, has presented a well-considered review of the current literature. Flavell and Draguns⁴ in 1957 published a broad based historical perspective of the "microgenetic^* approach to perception and thought."Adams¹ and McConnell, Cutler, and McNeil,⁸ have provided reviews of the literature on "behavior without awareness" and "subliminal stimulation." Eriksen² and Goldiamond⁶ have critically evaluated experimental methods and data analysis. The work of Fisher,³