Moving in time and space – Do (a)symmetric time-space mappings depend on modality-specific processing?

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Rouwen Cañal Bruland; Professor Dr. Markus Raab
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: from 2014 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 256549680

Embodied cognition accounts submit that cognitive representations such as representations of time and space and movements mutually modulate each other. Yet, two conflicting theories provide alternative explanations as to how this modulation is effectuated. According to the asymmetry hypothesis movements influence spatial representations, which then influence temporal representations. Therefore, with respect to time-space mappings, the asymmetry hypothesis predicts that spatial representations have a larger impact on temporal representations than temporal representations on spatial representations. In contrast, A Theory of Magnitude (ATOM) advocates that time and space are processed by a shared magnitude system that develops through movement. Consequently, with respect to time-space mappings, the ATOM hypothesis proposes that temporal and spatial representations impact each other equally. While both theoretical approaches have received empirical support, closer inspection reveals that this may – in part – be due to the relative contribution of different modalities to finding task-appropriate solutions. It is well known that the processing of time and space is differently sensitive within the different modalities. For instance, auditory information processing is more sensitive to temporal than spatial information, whereas visual information processing is more sensitive to spatial than temporal information. It follows that a proper test of either hypothesis needs to control for relative contributions of different modalities for task-appropriate solutions. To this end, the aim of the proposed research project is to systematically manipulate the relative informational value of different modalities for tasks that require accurate temporal and spatial representations (i.e. catching a ball). The unique contribution of this research project is a critical test of the asymmetry hypothesis against ATOM from an embodied cognition perspective, thereby fundamentally increasing our understanding how interactions between movements and space-time mappings are modulated by modality-specific processing.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants