Chapter 4 Auditory imagery and inner speech

The study of mental imagery is surely one of the great success stories of modern psychology. Auditory imagery occupies an intriguing position, standing at the intersection of a number of phenomena, and a number of research domains. This chapter describes a series of studies, organized roughly historically, but also organized to make plain the evolution of the thinking about auditory imagery. The chapter surveys a range of phenomena, consistent with the initial observation that auditory imagery is a particularly rich domain, with ties to many research areas. It is striking that a reasonably consistent pattern emerges across these domains. Auditory imagery may be a mental resource with broad application, and, therefore, with considerable importance.