The categorical use of a continuous time representation
Metadatos
Afficher la notice complèteEditorial
Springer
Date
2021-07-21Referencia bibliográfica
Beracci, A., Santiago, J. & Fabbri, M. The categorical use of a continuous time representation. Psychological Research (2021). [https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-021-01553-y]
Patrocinador
Universita degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli within the CRUI-CARE AgreementRésumé
The abstract concept of time is mentally represented as a spatially oriented line, with the past associated with the left space
and the future associated with the right. Although the line is supposed to be continuous, most available evidence is also
consistent with a categorical representation that only discriminates between past and future. The aim of the present study
was to test the continuous or categorical nature of the mental timeline. Italian participants judged the temporal reference of
20 temporal expressions by pressing keys on either the left or the right. In Experiment 1 (N = 32), all words were presented at
the center of the screen. In Experiment 2 (N = 32), each word was presented on the screen in a central, left, or right position.
In Experiment 3 (N = 32), all text was mirror-reversed. In all experiments, participants were asked to place the 20 temporal
expressions on a 10-cm line. The results showed a clear Spatial–TEmporal Association of Response Codes (STEARC) effect
which did not vary in strength depending on the location of the temporal expressions on the line. However, there was also
a clear Distance effect: latencies were slower for words that were closer to the present than further away. We conclude that
the mental timeline is a continuous representation that can be used in a categorical way when an explicit past vs. future
discrimination is required by the task.