Q. Is there a difference between having a visual sensory preference and being able to visualize?

A. I believe there is a big difference between have a visual sensory preference and being able to picture something in your mind's eye. Personally, I avoid using the term visualize or visualization because it has its roots in a variety of differing belief systemsl

A visual sensory preference indicates that data taken in through the eyes tends to registers more quickly in your brain than either auditory or kinesthetic sensory data (although there may be specific situations in which you are more aware of auditory stimuli (e.g., listening to music on the radio, attending a musical program, singing in a choir, playing an instrument) or kinesthetic stimuli (e.g., having Thanksgiving dinner, trying on clothes, petting a cat, smelling the perfume of roses in the garden).

Active mental picturing describes an ability to see something in the mind’s eye that you have seen before, or to create a picture of something you have never seen but may want to build or paint or sculpt. For example, most people can recall their mother’s face. Some can imagine a purple watermelon.

Estimates are that 95% or more of humans can train themselves to picture something in their mind's eye.  energy in the process.