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Space-Time Congruency Effects Using Eye Movements During Processing of Past- and Future-Related Words.

Camille L Grasso1, Johannes C Ziegler1, Jennifer T Coull2

  • 1CNRS, Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive (UMR 7290), Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.

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|December 8, 2022
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Summary

Reading and writing direction influences our mental timeline (MTL), affecting how we perceive time spatially. Eye movement responses confirmed that directional reading shapes our embodiment of time-related concepts.

Keywords:
abstract conceptsembodimenteye-trackinglexical decisionspacetime

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Linguistics
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Western cultures conceptualize time spatially from left to right (past to future), termed the mental timeline (MTL).
  • Space-time congruency effects demonstrate faster lexical decisions when manual responses align with the MTL.
  • Cross-cultural variations in reading direction (e.g., right-to-left) suggest writing/reading dynamics influence spatial time representation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of reading directionality in the space-time congruency effect.
  • To examine if eye movements, as a reading-associated effector, elicit space-time congruency effects.
  • To reinforce the hypothesis that directional reading and writing movements contribute to the embodiment of time.

Main Methods:

  • Participants performed a lexical decision task using lateralized eye movements (saccades) to judge word validity.
  • Response compatibility with the individual's mental timeline (MTL) direction was manipulated.
  • Eye movement metrics, including response speed and amplitude, were recorded and analyzed.

Main Results:

  • Eye movement responses were significantly slower when incompatible with the participant's MTL direction.
  • Eye movement responses showed higher amplitude for incompatible responses.
  • These findings align with previous research using manual responses, supporting the MTL concept.

Conclusions:

  • Directional reading movements, even when using eye movements, are implicated in the space-time congruency effect.
  • The study reinforces the embodied cognition perspective, suggesting that sensorimotor experiences shape abstract concepts like time.
  • Reading directionality plays a crucial role in how individuals spatially represent and process temporal information.