Aphantasia Test: Based on 15 Symptoms

This Aphantasia Test identifies if you have a visual imagery dysfunction. Is your mind’s eye working? Let’s find out.

What is Aphantasia Test?

Comprised of 15 visual memory questions, the Aphantasia Test examines how vivid your imagery is and how well your mind’s eye work.

Aphantasia is a visual memory dysfunction; it is an inability to form detailed imaginary pictures and memorize visual cues. People with Aphantasia mostly rely on auditory and verbal clues to memorize events and often struggle with tasks that include imagination.

With the current examination, you find out if your brain is good at visualization or if it prefers to think in factual ways.

Signs You Have Aphantasia

Textualizing memories rather than storing them as images is an undeniable sign of aphantasia. For example, if you know every detail about your first date but can’t see it in your mind’s eye, you’re likely to have aphantasia.

Here are the primary symptoms of aphantasia:

• Your memories are in words, not pictures.
• It’s difficult for you to manipulate imaginary pictures.
• You can’t visualize the description of a scene.
• Understanding implicit imagery cues is hard for you.
• You prefer explicit verbal communication.
• You forget visual details about your memories.
• You don’t have normal emotional responses to visual stimuli.
• Aphantasia runs in your family (it’s hereditary).

Conditions That Are Similar to Aphantasia

A similar condition that is often mixed up with aphantasia is prosopagnosia or face blindness. People with this memory dysfunction can’t memorize faces and rely on other cues, such as names or voices, to remember them.

Hyperphantasia, on the other hand, is the opposite of aphantasia. People with hyperphantasia remember every visual detail about their memories and can recall incredibly vivid memories.

However, it is important to remember two things: 1) aphantasia, prosopagnosia, and hyperphantasia are not medical conditions. 2) All these memory dysfunctions are rare, and few people actually get diagnosed with them. According to CNBC, only 3% of the entire world’s population has aphantasia.

Suggested: Try our Learning Style Test next to see if the vividness of your visual imagery has affected your learning.

Aphantasia or Hyperphantasia? Take the Quiz to See

Do you want to know if you have aphantasia? Take our 15-question test and examine your mind’s eye. We expose any abnormality in your visualization skills and identify if it’s aphantasia or something else—like hyperphantasia or face blindness.

If you’re interested in getting your visual abilities tested even further, check out our Dyslexia Quiz that identifies if you have any reading problems.

Now, let’s analyze your memories and look for subtle symptoms of aphantasia. 🩺🧠

Questions of the quiz

• 1
  How difficult is it for you to visualize a memory?
  

  • Usually not difficult

  • It’s almost impossible

  • It’s the easiest thing ever

  • My memories are not that vivid

• 2
  What kinds of memories do you struggle to remember?
  

  • Very detailed one

  • All visual details

  • Most verbal details

  • I can’t remember faces

• 3
  What sensory cues do you use to memorize something?
  

  • I try to use all of them

  • Mostly auditory cues

  • Visual cues only

  • All except visual

• 4
  What kind of memory-oriented tasks are difficult for you?
  

  • Those that require too many details

  • All visual tasks

  • None of them

  • Most of them are slightly difficult, but I rely on other senses

• 5
  How would you describe your memories?
  

  • Average or typical

  • Non-visual

  • Highly vivid and detailed

  • Not as visual as others’ memories

• 6
  How good are you at describing something you saw a while back?
  

  • Good

  • Extremely bad

  • Incredibly good

  • Average or typical (unless we’re talking about faces)

• 7
  How do you respond to visual stimuli of memories?
  

  • It depends on the stimuli

  • I can’t respond normally

  • I experience intense emotions

  • I have a normal response unless you show me faces

• 8
  Do you think in words or pictures?
  

  • Both equally

  • Words

  • Pictures

  • Words for memorizing people, pictures for other stuff

• 9
  Do you struggle with understanding visual or implicit forms of communication?
  

  • Not really

  • Yes, and I prefer verbal communication

  • No, I excel at visual communication

  • Maybe (I’m bad at recognizing facial expressions)

• 10
  How often do you use visual examples in your speech?
  

  • Occasionally

  • Rarely or never

  • All the time

  • I can’t do that when talking about people

• 11
  Can you picture an imaginary environment as someone’s describing it?
  

  • Most of the time, yeah

  • No, not at all

  • Yes, very vividly

  • Yes, unless they’re describing faces

• 12
  Do you find it hard to navigate and memorize addresses?
  

  • Not really

  • Yes, I can’t navigate without my phone

  • No, I can remember every address in detail

  • Yes, somewhat

• 13
  On a scale of 1 to 4, how good are you at creative tasks like painting or writing?
  

  • 3

  • 1

  • 4

  • 2

• 14
  What type of information is easier for you to remember?
  

  • Faces and general picture of places

  • Verbal information

  • Visual information

  • All types, except for faces

• 15
  How often do you feel like you can’t remember someone’s face?
  

  • Rarely; I don’t think I’ve ever had that before

  • Often. I easily forget faces

  • Never (I can even remember a stranger’s face)

  • All the time. I can’t remember most people’s faces