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No prevalence of right-left over top-bottom spatial codes
1Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research, München, Germany. hommel@mpipf-muenchen.mpg.de
Perception & Psychophysics
|January 1, 1996
Summary
Spatial stimulus-response compatibility influences reaction time. This study found that horizontal compatibility effects persist even when vertical cues are emphasized, suggesting a dominance of right-left coding unless response methods specifically allow for top-bottom coding.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human Factors
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Spatial stimulus-response compatibility affects reaction time in both horizontal and vertical dimensions.
- Previous research indicates horizontal compatibility influences performance more than vertical, even when vertical attention is instructed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of horizontal versus vertical instructions on spatial stimulus-response compatibility.
- To determine if spatial coding (horizontal vs. vertical) is context-dependent and influenced by response modality.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: Compared horizontal and vertical instructions using key responses at top/bottom locations.
- Experiment 2: Utilized one-handed joystick movements to assess horizontal prevalence with different response types.
Main Results:
- A horizontal-prevalence effect was observed with horizontal instructions but not with vertical instructions in Experiment 1.
- Experiment 2 showed no horizontal prevalence with joystick movements, indicating response modality influences coding effectiveness.
- Top-bottom spatial codes become ineffective when responses exclusively suggest horizontal coding.
Conclusions:
- Stimuli and responses can be spatially coded in multiple ways under specific conditions.
- Right-left spatial codes do not inherently dominate top-bottom spatial codes; context and response modality are critical factors.