Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Social Scripts02:10

Social Scripts

People tend to know what behavior is expected of them in specific, familiar settings. A script is a person’s knowledge about the sequence of events expected in a specific setting (Schank & Abelson, 1977). Essentially, scripts are a particular kind of schema, one containing default values for the features within an event. In the restaurant example, the script's features include the props (e.g., tables, menu, food, and money), the roles to be played (e.g., customer and waiter), the opening...
Coordinates and Map Projections01:29

Coordinates and Map Projections

Coordinates and map projections are essential tools in accurately representing the Earth's surface for various applications, ranging from navigation to spatial analysis. The latitude and longitude coordinate system is a universally recognized framework for defining locations. Latitude specifies the distance of a point north or south of the equator, measured in degrees from 0° at the equator to 90° at the poles. Longitude indicates a location's position east or west of the prime meridian,...
Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
Directional Terms01:14

Directional Terms

Directional terms are essential for describing the relative locations of different body structures. For instance, an anatomist might describe one band of tissue as "inferior to" another, or a physician might describe a tumor as "superficial to" a deeper body structure. These terms often use comparative terms in pairs to trace out the relative locations of one body part to another or descriptions of body tissues like the deeper ones from superficially present with reference to the body's upright...
Framing Effects03:26

Framing Effects

Information is everywhere and its presentation—such as how and when items are presented—can impact our perceptions and decisions surrounding the info. This broad concept umbrellas framing effects—influences that occur due to the way information is framed in its appearance, whether it’s purely the order or the specific wording of a message. Let’s take a look at numerous ways in which two versions of something can objectively say the same thing, yet we respond in different ways based on the...
Direction of Acceleration Vectors01:10

Direction of Acceleration Vectors

Acceleration occurs when velocity changes in magnitude (an increase or decrease in speed), direction, or both. Although acceleration is in the direction of the change in velocity, it is not always in the direction of motion. When an object slows down, its acceleration is opposite to the direction of its motion. This is commonly referred to as deceleration. However, the term deceleration can cause confusion in analysis because it is not a vector; it does not point to a specific direction with...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Large language models pass a standard three-party Turing test.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

On the Mathematical Relationship Between Contextual Probability and N400 Amplitude.

Open mind : discoveries in cognitive science·2024
Same author

Strong Prediction: Language Model Surprisal Explains Multiple N400 Effects.

Neurobiology of language (Cambridge, Mass.)·2024
Same author

When is a word in good company for learning?

Developmental science·2024
Same author

Ignoring the alternatives: The N400 is sensitive to stimulus preactivation alone.

Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior·2023
Same author

Sentence-based mental simulations: Evidence from behavioral experiments using garden-path sentences.

Memory & cognition·2022

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 23, 2026

Assessing Human Spatial Navigation in a Virtual Space and its Sensitivity to Exercise
06:17

Assessing Human Spatial Navigation in a Virtual Space and its Sensitivity to Exercise

Published on: January 26, 2024

Writing direction affects how people map space onto time.

Benjamin K Bergen1, Ting Ting Chan Lau

  • 1Department of Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego, San Diego CA, USA.

Frontiers in Psychology
|April 20, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Writing system direction influences spatial representation of time. Reading habits shape how we visualize temporal sequences, affecting cognitive processes and cross-cultural understanding.

Keywords:
EnglishMandarin Chinesespacetimewriting direction

More Related Videos

Three-Dimensional Mapping of the Rotation of Interactive Virtual Objects with Eye-Tracking Data
06:36

Three-Dimensional Mapping of the Rotation of Interactive Virtual Objects with Eye-Tracking Data

Published on: October 18, 2024

The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition
05:15

The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

Published on: February 19, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 23, 2026

Assessing Human Spatial Navigation in a Virtual Space and its Sensitivity to Exercise
06:17

Assessing Human Spatial Navigation in a Virtual Space and its Sensitivity to Exercise

Published on: January 26, 2024

Three-Dimensional Mapping of the Rotation of Interactive Virtual Objects with Eye-Tracking Data
06:36

Three-Dimensional Mapping of the Rotation of Interactive Virtual Objects with Eye-Tracking Data

Published on: October 18, 2024

The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition
05:15

The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

Published on: February 19, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Linguistics
  • Cross-cultural Studies

Background:

  • The spatial representation of time is not universal and may be influenced by cultural factors.
  • Writing systems involve thousands of hours of directional eye and hand movements, potentially shaping cognitive biases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of native writing system direction on the spatial axis used to represent time.
  • To determine if directional reading habits influence the cognitive mapping of temporal sequences.

Main Methods:

  • A behavioral experiment was conducted with native speakers of English, Mandarin Chinese (mainland China), and Mandarin Chinese (Taiwan).
  • Participants were asked to arrange sets of cards depicting developmental stages (e.g., tadpole to frog) in temporal order.
  • The spatial arrangement of the cards (left-to-right, top-to-bottom, right-to-left) was recorded.

Main Results:

  • English speakers consistently represented time moving from left to right (LR).
  • Mainland Chinese participants predominantly showed LR representation, with some using top-to-bottom.
  • Taiwanese participants exhibited varied representations, with significant proportions using LR, top-to-bottom, and right-to-left axes.

Conclusions:

  • Native writing system direction significantly affects the spatial representation of time.
  • Cultural and linguistic backgrounds, specifically writing direction, influence cognitive frameworks for temporal sequencing.
  • Findings highlight the plasticity of cognitive representations and the impact of deeply ingrained reading habits.