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• Mental imagery


  Pictures in the mind or a visual representation in the absence of environmental input
• Mental imagery is not a universal talent, not everybody can conjure up mental images at will
• Although mental imagery can be vivid and detailed, most people have rather poor memory for the details of the picture
• We remember mostly the meaning of picture but not the details
• Most people can generate mental images and manipulate them
• Mental images are mostly lost after a few days, then we use inference to help re-construct images based on remembered knowledge
• Inference


  The mental process that allows us to draw conclusions from evidence
• While we tend to think of inference as deliberative and conscious process, we infer all kinds of things unconsciously
• Inference making has been crucial to human survival, but our conclusions are not always correct
• By becoming aware of how our brain functions to ward off threats and provide us with "cognitive ease" or a feeling of well being and comfort, we can begin to correct for and guard against faulty thinking
• Mental imagery


  Pictures in the mind or a visual representation in the absence of environmental input
• Mental imagery is not a universal talent, not everybody can conjure up mental images at will
• Although mental imagery can be vivid and detailed, most people have rather poor memory for the details of the picture
• We remember mostly the meaning of picture but not the details
• Most people can generate mental images and manipulate them
• Mental images are mostly lost after a few days, then we use inference to help re-construct images based on remembered knowledge
• Inference


  The mental process that allows us to draw conclusions from evidence
• While we tend to think of inference as deliberative and conscious process, we infer all kinds of things unconsciously
• Inference making has been crucial to human survival, but our conclusions are not always correct
• By becoming aware of how our brain functions to ward off threats and provide us with "cognitive ease" or a feeling of well being and comfort, we can begin to correct for and guard against faulty thinking