Perky effect

noun

The phenomenon whereby sensory input, or perceptions, can be mistaken for a mental image when perceptual processes and mental imagery interfere with each other.

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Meanings

nounPerky effect (plural Perky effects)

plural Perky effects

  1. The phenomenon whereby sensory input, or perceptions, can be mistaken for a mental image when perceptual processes and mental imagery interfere with each other.

    If Perky effects like these are indeed indicative of visual imagery making use of the same neural resources recruited for actual vision, then they can naturally be extended to language processing.

    2007, Monica Gonzalez-Marquez, Methods in Cognitive Linguistics, page 286

Origin

Named after Cheves Perky (1874–1940), American psychologist, who carried out a related experiment in which subjects were asked to visualize various objects on a screen while, unknown to them, very faint patches of color resembling these objects were projected onto the screen.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish Perky-ilmiö
  • Perky-ilmiöTranslations
German Perky-Effekt
  • Perky-EffektTranslations
Polish efekt Perky
  • efekt PerkyTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

Perky effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Perky%20effect

MLA

“Perky effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Perky%20effect. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Perky effect,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Perky%20effect.

Source: Perky effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.