Vividness of visual imagery is associated with perceived clarity of recall but not with accuracy during exams.

Introduction: Visual imagery may aid learning by facilitating vivid mental images, but it remains unclear whether greater imagery vividness improves students' exam performance through enhanced visual recall clarity. This study examines the association between vividness of visual imagery and recall clarity during exams and evaluates their direct and indirect links to exam performance. Methods: Undergraduate students ( Results: Visual imagery ability and subjective recall clarity were positively correlated, but neither predicted answer correctness nor overall exam scores. A statistically significant association between VVIQ scores and overall GPA was observed, but its practical significance was negligible. Additionally, visual learning preference was statistically associated with recall clarity, although the small effect size and limited practical significance did not predict exam performance. Among reported study approaches, recall of lecture-based learning was associated with higher answer correctness than recall of online resources. Discussion: Taken together, visual imagery vividness, perceived recall clarity, and visual learning preference did not predict summative exam performance, whereas recall of lecture-based learning during the exam was associated with better performance. This suggests that visual imagery ability is not a major predictor of exam success and that keeping pace with in-class instruction and prioritizing classroom learning are more closely related to better outcomes.