Aphantasia and autism: An investigation of mental imagery vividness
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Objective The present study investigated whether autistic adults report different levels of mental imagery vividness than non-autistic adults, and, moreover, if autism is associated with aphantasia which is defined as a condition of reduced or absent voluntary imagery. Design and methods Clinically diagnosed and self-identifying autistic participants were compared with non-autistic participants in their mental imagery vividness (vision, sound, smell, taste, touch, bodily sensation and emotional feeling) and autistic traits using an online survey (N = 121). Results The autistic group scored significantly lower than the non-autistic group on imagery vividness (d = -0.44), in addition to having a higher proportion of participants scoring at cut-off for aphantasia. Moreover, a similar difference was observed for the emotional feel (η 2 = 0.11). Conclusion The vividness of visual and emotional mental imagery was on average lower for autistic individuals, with a higher proportion presenting at cut-off to be considered an aphantasic.
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The high endorsement of intrusive mental imagery in this sample is striking given claims that autism is often associated with weak imagery.
“The endorsement of imagery is particularly striking given claims that autism is often associated with weak imagery.”
From Understanding Autistic Adults' Psychological Experiences of Anxiety Problems: A Qualitative Interview Study. (2026) · cites this paper as King et al., 2024
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“These findings are similar to Hatakeyama (2024) who demonstrated a link between the AQ imagination subscale and mental imagery vividness, with the high scoring unimaginative group demonstrating lower imagery vividness in a sample of 250 college students.”
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“Similarly, differences in interoception, alexithymia, and aphantasia common among autistic individuals (King et al., 2024; Kinnaird et al., 2019; Trevisan et al., 2021) may require mindfulness instructors to move beyond conventional practices by offering diverse or multiple exercise options…”
- Authors
- King, R., Buxton, H., & Tyndall, I.
- Affiliations
- University of Chichester (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Tyndall, Ian
- ORCID
- Tyndall, Ian
- Venue
- Consciousness and Cognition
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2024-10
- Volume
- 125
- Pages
- 103749
- ISSN
- 1053-8100 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4402306022
- Cited by
- 23
- References
- 78
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 6
- FWCI
- 5.61
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Consciousness and Cognition (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ChiPrints (University of Chichester) (acceptedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
- Keywords
- aphantasia, autism spectrum disorder, imagery vividness, visual imagery, emotional imagery, sensory imagery, autistic traits, autistic adults
- MeSH terms
- Autism Spectrum Disorder, Adolescent, Adult, Autistic Disorder, Emotions, Female, Humans, Imagination, Male, Middle Aged, Young Adult
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