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Updated: May 22, 2026

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language
Published on: October 13, 2018
The comprehension of sentences involving quantity information affects responses on the up-down axis
Andrea J Sell1, Michael P Kaschak
1Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA. a.sell@uky.edu
Abstract:
We investigated the use of space in the comprehension of the concept of quantity in text. Previous work has suggested that the right-left axis is useful in spatial representations of number and quantity, while linguistic evidence points toward use of the up-down axis. In Experiment 1, participants read sentences containing quantity information and pressed buttons in either (1) an up and a down position or (2) a left and a right position. In Experiment 2, the participants pressed buttons in either (1) up and down positions or (2) left and right positions, but heard the sentences rather than reading them. We found spatial compatibility effects for the up-down axis, but not for the right-left axis. Additionally, the spatial compatibility effect was observed whether or not the participants moved to make their responses. We discussed the results in the context of embodied approaches to the comprehension of quantity information.
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