Aphantasia Test (VVIQ)

Some people can replay a holiday in full colour, while others remember every detail and see nothing at all. If you have ever wondered which group you belong to, this aphantasia test gives you a clear answer in a few minutes. Many people first ask themselves do I have aphantasia after a friend casually mentions seeing pictures with closed eyes.

What the VVIQ measures

The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire was created by the psychologist David Marks in 1973. The VVIQ test is still the first tool researchers reach for when they study aphantasia and hyperphantasia. It asks you to picture four scenes, each from four angles: someone you see often, a sunrise, a shop you know well and a country scene with trees and a lake. For every prompt you rate how vivid the image is, from no picture at all to something as clear as real seeing. Your result opens with one mind's eye score from 0 to 100. The lower third is the aphantasia range, where images barely appear. The middle third is a typical mind's eye, and the upper third is the vivid, hyperphantasia range. Below it, each scene is scored on its own.

How it works and how to read your score

There are sixteen short prompts, and most people finish in about four minutes. Read each one, close your eyes if it helps, and choose the option that matches the picture you actually get, not the one you think you should get. Every prompt uses the same five-step vividness scale, so answering is quick. Your result includes:

• your mind's eye score from 0 to 100 with a plain label;
• separate scores for the person, the sunrise, the shop and the country scene;
• your clearest scene and your faintest one;
• how your images handle colour, movement and fine detail;
• a comparison with other people who answered the same prompts.

Unlike a one-question aphantasia quiz with a single red star, sixteen prompts show not only whether pictures appear but where they are strongest. People with low scores are often brilliant at remembering facts, routes and conversations, and people with high scores finally understand why a novel feels like a film to them.