Mental imagery as a hidden engine of creative expertise

This article is based on my keynote presentation at the BPS Cognitive Section Research Seminars in August 2025 and on several chapters in my recent book ‘The Psychology of Creative Performance and Expertise’, Taylor & Francis, 2024. It expands on key ideas from that talk, exploring how imagination and mental imagery shape creative expertise across the arts and sciences. It also reflects on how cognitive psychology could engage more deeply with these processes in future work and concludes with a brief reflection on the implications of emerging AI systems for human imaginative thought.