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We argue that imaging is a cognitive process that uses the same mental resources as perception. Therefore, when imaging and perception compete for the same resources, message elaboration and learning should be undermined. Two experiments are reported that provide support for this theorizing. In the first experiment, the learning of visual or auditory imagery-provoking information is adversely affected by reading or listening, respectively. In the second experiment, information with high levels of visual imagery is found to be learned better than information with low levels of visual imagery when the information is presented auditorily, but the reverse occurs when information is presented visually.