Psychology Taster Webinar

The theme of the Taster Session is "Imagination in creative expertise - beyond mental rehearsal"
In cognitive psychology, mental imagery - the capacity to experience pictures, sounds, tastes, and sensations in the mind - has mostly been explored through debates about how it works and how vividness can be measured. When studying expertise, we often treat it as a mere rehearsal tool - a way of mentally simulating performance situations or preparing for nuanced performance. But mental imagery does much more: it helps creative experts in the arts and sciences to explore hypothetical possibilities, storyboard ideas, inhabit perspectives, make inventive combinations, and run counterfactual thought experiments.
This raises fascinating questions we have only begun to explore: How do we measure the more conceptual forms of imagery? How do less researched modalities of mental imagery - taste, smell, bodily sensation - contribute to creative expertise? And what might we lose if we outsource imagination to AI? The main take-away of the talk: imagination is not an optional extra; it’s a central engine of human creativity, and one that cognitive psychology has only begun to explore.

You can find out more about our unique tutorial model and flexible study options including two entry points and a chance to finish your degree in as little as two years.

Our BSc Psychology is accredited by the British Psychological Society and we have distinct modules in all seven areas of practitioner psychology.

Throughout the session, you can ask questions to both current students and academic staff via online chat.

This is a live online event. To attend, please register to receive a link to this event. A recording will be available on request following the event.