A classic discussion about visual imagery is whether it affords
reinterpretation, like discovering two interpretations in the
duck/rabbit illustration. Recent findings converge on
reinterpretation being possible in visual imagery, suggesting
functional equivalence with pictorial representations.
However, it is unclear whether such reinterpretations are
necessarily a visual-pictorial achievement. To assess this, 68
participants were briefly presented 2-d ambiguous figures.
One figure was presented visually, the other via manual touch
alone. Afterwards participants mentally rotated the
memorized figures as to discover a novel interpretation. A
portion (20.6%) of the participants detected a novel
interpretation in visual imagery, replicating previous research.
Strikingly, 23.6% of participants were able to reinterpret
figures they had only felt. That reinterpretation truly involved
haptic processes was further supported, as some participants
performed co-thought gestures on an imagined figure during
retrieval. These results are promising for further development
of an Enactivist approach to imagination.