How Considering Adaptive Functions of Mental Imagery Perspective May Offer New Insight on Memory Accuracy.

People have an intriguing ability to mentally image memories of life events from either their original own-eyes visual perspective or an observer visual perspective. The two visual imagery perspectives differentially support reconstruction of events in terms of concrete experience (own-eyes) versus abstract meaning (observer). Through this mechanism, flexibility in imagery perspective contributes to memory's adaptive functions in serving self, social, and directive purposes. Accuracy is typically not the end goal in those contexts, although accuracy is the end goal in the context of eyewitness testimony. Existing research suggests ways that flexibility in imagery perspective can compromise memory accuracy. However, imagery perspective's adaptive functions suggest ways that flexibility in imagery perspective might also benefit memory accuracy. Whether or not future research supports these possibilities, situating the question of imagery perspective and memory accuracy in a broader functional context provides a richer appreciation of imagery perspective's role in regulating the interface between the personal past, present, and future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]