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Our imagination might not be as powerful as we think when it comes to holding visual images, according to a first-of-its-kind study by psychologists at Nottingham Trent University (NTU).

The research, led by Dr. Christopher Atkin, found that people can remember more items when they've seen them, compared to when they must imagine them.

While short-term visual memory can hold three to four items at once, our imagination can manage only two items before becoming less accurate.

Across a series of five experiments, more than 150 participants were asked to either remember or imagine the locations of objects on a grid.

Researchers examined how accurately participants could detect changes in specific locations under various conditions, including timing, cueing, display type, and object complexity. They then compared the number of items participants could correctly remember after viewing them with the number they could accurately imagine and recall without having seen them.

Findings showed that even when given more time or simpler images, people still imagined fewer items than they could remember visually.

The study, "The relation between the capacities of imagination and visual memory in the short-term, " published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, offers the first direct comparison of how much information people can hold in visual imagination versus visual memory.

"Imagination and memory use similar parts of the brain, but this is the first time we've measured exactly how they differ when it comes to capacity.

"Our findings demonstrate that actually seeing something, even a brief glimpse, gives our brain extra sensory support that bolsters our memory. In fact, we estimate that 17–35% of visual memory capacity depends on sensory input. When we imagine something from scratch, we don't have that input from our eyes, so it's harder to hold detailed images, " said Dr. Atkin, research fellow at NTU's School of Social Sciences.

"We use imagination constantly in everyday life, as imagery is seen as essential for navigating and predicting our environment and is involved in decision-making and emotion regulation, but the study reveals that our capacity to visualize is surprisingly limited, and this might affect how we make decisions, remember plans, or follow instructions when we rely on mental imagery alone."

More information: Christopher Atkin et al, The relation between the capacities of imagination and visual memory in the short term., Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance (2025). DOI: 10.1037/xhp0001364