An implicit task reveals space-time associations along vertical and diagonal axes

In previous studies investigating the space-time compatibility effect, the experimental task always invites explicit spatial or temporal processing or both. In this study, we kept space and time irrelevant to the task. In a go/no-go task, participants (N = 50) were asked to either press a single button when they found the target or refrain from responding when there was no target in a search array. We manipulated the duration of the target-alone presentation that preceded a 7 × 7 search array consisting of either target plus distractors or distractors alone. The results revealed faster responses to shorter durations when the target appeared in the upper relative to the lower space. A similar effect also appeared along the diagonal axis with faster responses to shorter durations in upper-left relative to lower-right space. In contrast, no such difference was found along the horizontal axis. We hypothesize that vertical and diagonal space-time associations arise from the grounding of mental representation of time in physical experiences.