Validation of a French Version of the Plymouth Sensory Imagery Questionnaire (PSIQ-F)

Abstract: Multisensory mental imagery refers to the mental simulation of experiences across several sensory modalities. The Plymouth Sensory Imagery Questionnaire (PSIQ, Andrade et al., 2014 ) was developed to assess the vividness of mental imagery in seven sensory modalities: vision, sound, smell, taste, touch, bodily sensations, and emotion. The present article aimed to validate a French version of the PSIQ (PSIQ-F). We examined its factorial structure in a sample of 501 French adults. As expected, for both the PSIQ-F and the shorter version we proposed, a 7-factor structure was found to be more appropriate than a general imagery solution. The PSIQ-F demonstrated excellent internal consistency, test–retest reliability, satisfactory construct validity, and cultural invariance. Scores were unrelated to vocabulary level. Results support the overall reliability of the PSIQ and its cross-cultural usefulness.