Contents:
R.H. Logie, M. Denis, Preface: Imagery, Language and Visuo-spatial Thinking: E Pluribus Unum. D. Pearson, R. De Beni, C. Cornoldi, The Generation, Maintenance, and Transformation of Visuo-spatial Mental Images. T. Vecchi, L.H. Phillips, C. Cornoldi, Individual Differences in Visuo-spatial Working Memory. J. Engelkamp, H.D. Zimmer, M. de Vega, Pictures in Memory: The Role of Visual-imaginal Information. O.H. Turnbull, M. Denis, E. Mellet, O. Ghaëm, D.P. Carey, The Processing of Visuo- spatial Information: Neuropsychological and Neuroimaging Investigations. M. de Vega, M. Cocude, M. Denis, M.J. Rodrigo, H.D. Zimmer, The Interface between Language and Visuo-spatial Representations. M. Denis, M.-P. Daniel, S. Fontaine, F. Pazzaglia, Language, Spatial Cognition, and Navigation. R.H. Logie, J. Engelkamp, D. Dehn, S. Rudkin, Actions, Mental Actions, and Working Memory.

This book deals with the conditions and the consequences of the production of different syntactic sentence structures. During the sixties the syntactic structure of sentences was one of the most intensively studied topics in psycholinguistic research. The dominant interest did not, however, lie in the function of syntactic structures but in the ability to understand and to utter them. Later, in the seventies the interest shifted to the semantic structure of sentences. Many studies centred around the structural aspects of the repre sentation of knowledge. The leading question was: how can the meaning of an utterance be described? The widely accepted answer was: the central unit of meaning is the proposition. From this point of view, the aim of an utter ance is to transmit propositional meaning, and syntactic structure is of inter est only insofar as it influences the comprehension of propositional meaning. In this book both aspects, i. e. the syntactic and the semantic structure of sentences have been considered. The dynamic aspects of knowledge use and its relationship to the syntactic structure of sentences are thoroughly analysed and studied empirically. The main question is how semantic knowledge is communicated through syntactic structure. Syntactic structure has causes and consequences. In general we assume that the syntactic structure reflects dynamic aspects of the knowledge base of the speaker and determines dynamic states in the listener."

The locus of concreteness effects in memory for verbal materials has been described here in terms of the processing of shared and distinctive information. This theoretical view is consistent with a variety of findings previously taken as support for dual coding, insofar as both verbal and perceptual information may be involved in comprehending high-imagery sentences and in learning lists of concrete words. But going beyond previous accounts of imagery, this view also can provide explanations for several findings that appear contradictory to the thesis that concrete and abstract materials differ in the form of their storage in long-term memory. Although this does not rule out a role for imagery in list learning or text comprehension, it is clear that the complex processes involved in comprehension and memory for language go beyond mechanisms supplied by a theory based on the availability of modality-specific mental representations. The task now is to determine the viability of the theory in other domains. Several domains of imagery research presented at EWIC provided fertile ground for evaluating my theoretical viewpoint. Although not all provide a basis for distinguishing representational theories of imagery from the imagery as process view, there are data in several areas that are more consistent with the latter than the former. In other cases, there are at least potential sources of evidence that would allow such a distinction.

Imagery, Language and Visuo-Spatial Thinking discusses the remarkable human ability to use mental imagery in everyday life: from helping plan actions and routes to aiding creative thinking; from making sense of and remembering our immediate environment to generating pictures in our minds from verbal descriptions of scenes or people. The book also considers the important theme of how individuals differ in their ability to use imagery. With contributions from leading researchers in the field, this book will be of interest to advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers in cognitive psychology, cognitive science and cognitive neuropsychology.

Am 23. Oktober 1984 ware Hans Hormann 60 Jahre alt geworden. Es ist eine nicht von allen als glucklich angesehene, aber nichtsdestoweni- ger verbreitete Tradition unter Wissenschaftlern, ihre Kollegen- wenigstens wenn diese als renommiert gel ten und hochgeschatzt werde- zum 60sten Geburtstag durch eine Festschrift zu ehren. Auch dieses Buch woll te ich - und mit mir die Bei tdiger zu diesem Buch - Hans Hormann zum 60sten Geburtstag widmen. Leider hat er diesen Geburts- tag nicht mehr erlebt. Das Buch sei deshalb seinem Andenken gewidmet. Das Buch sollte allerdings von Anfang an keine Festschrift im ubli- chen Sinne werden, sondern eine Sammlung von Beitragen zu einem um- rissenen Thema. Dieses war fur mich, der ich diesen Sammelband heraus- geben sollte und auch wollte, keine ganz einfache, aber - wie ich im nachhinein sagen kann - eine interessante Aufgabe. Ich muBte ein The- rna finden, das verschiedenen Kri terien zu genugen hatte. Es sollte einmal fur eine hinreichend groBe Leserschaft interessant sein, es soll te zum zwei ten auf die sprachpsychologische Forschung von Hans Hormann Bezug nehmen, und die Beitrager sollten drittens in einer personlichen Beziehung zu Hans Hormann stehen und gleichzeitig zu dem Thema kompetent beitragen konnen. Ich glaube, daB ich mit dem Thema 'Psychologische Aspekte des Verstehens' eine gute Wahl getroffen habe. DaB dieses Thema in engster Beziehung zu den zentralen sprachpsycho- logischen Interessen von Hans Hormann steht, steht auBer Zweifel.