1,721,012 research outputs found
A “hidden gem” (Lidji et al., 2007) and future directions in embodied cognition
No full textAlthough the experiments and findings of Lidji et al. (2007) and Rusconi et al. (2006) are very similar, there is a detail in Lidji and colleagues' work with important implications for embodied cognition research. Specifically, Lidji et al. suggest that the vertical Spatial-Pitch Association of Response Codes effect is modulated by hand position and is stronger in musicians, particularly pianists. As the authors proposed, this is likely due to the influence of the keyboard structure, hence the article's title, "A Piano in the Head." In my view, this is a key finding of Lidji et al.'s study that is worth further investigation and discussion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
So numerous and rather confusing ... integrating insights on the grounded, embodied, and situated nature of spatial–numerical association
No full textSpatial-numerical associations have been widely studied in the last 2 decades and have brought important advancements for embodied cognition theories on knowledge representation. Over the years, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance has contributed to disseminate seminal studies highlighting the role of grounded invariants (e.g., vertical spatial-numerical association of response codes, Hartmann et al., 2014), cultural habits (e.g., reading/writing direction, Shaki & Fischer, 2012; Shaki et al., 2012; Zohar-Shai et al., 2017), and situated constraints (e.g., mirror numbers, Marzola & Cohen, 2023; alternative number arrangements, Mingolo et al., 2021) on numerical representation. In this perspective article, we briefly review the contribution of these articles in the field, and we propose a broad overview of how these findings fit into grounded, embodied, and situated perspectives on numerical cognition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
A SNARC-like effect for music notation: The role of expertise and musical instrument
Full text linkThe file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version.The Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) suggests the existence of an association between number magnitude and response location, with faster left key-press responses to small numbers and faster right key-press responses to large numbers. We investigated whether a similar association exists between musical notes on the stave and the space of response execution, involving amateur and expert musicians (Experiment 1). Moreover, in Experiment 2 we further investigated such association in two groups of expert musicians (piano and transverse flute players) who differ in the note mapping on their instruments. Results indicate a clear association between musical notes and the space of response execution only for musicians with formal education. Furthermore, this association seems not to be influenced by the specific instrument played, as both piano and transverse flute players showed the same effect direction (left key-press advantage for low notes, and vice versa)
Emotion meets attention: The role of left-to-right valence mapping in an exogenous cueing task
No full textIn the Posner cueing task for exogenous attention orientation, spatial correspondence between the lateralized cue and target is beneficial under conditions of short asynchrony. How such a benefit is modulated by target qualia, like faces expressing either the most positive (happy relative to angry faces in Experiment 1, as well as neutral relative to angry faces in the negative group of Experiment 2) or negative (neutral relative to happy faces in the positive group of Experiment 2) emotion in a set, is an unsolved question. We expected that the spatial mapping of emotional valence conveyed by facial expressions would modulate localization response latencies, producing a compatibility effect: faster responses to negative emotions on the left and positive emotions on the right. Results of both experiments are consistent with our expectation, showing a novel type of attentional spatial compatibility effect dependent on the encoding of target properties: a Target-dependent Emotional Attentional Spatial Compatibility effect (the TEASC effect). We showed how the TEASC effect can be accounted for by a novel latency decomposition approach which disentangles the independent contributions of two well-established components of covert attentional orienting from response latencies. We decomposed response latencies in a sequence of events, one due to the voluntary attention component (directed toward the target) and the other to the reflexive attention component (directed toward the cue). Results show that the left-to-right valence mapping impacts the voluntary component only. This is consistent with a model of attention that disentangles reflexive and voluntary covert orienting mechanisms—with at least the latter being affect-driven
Unravelling the small number bias: the role of pseudoneglect and frequency of use in random number generation
No full textWhen asked to produce random numbers individuals generate more small numbers than large ones, a phenomenon known as “Small Number Bias” (SNB; Loetscher & Brugger, 2007). This bias has been associated with a spatial preference known as “pseudoneglect,” where attention is biased towards the left side of the mental number line during numerical processing (Loetscher & Brugger, 2009). Another potential explanation for SNB is the higher frequency of use of small compared to large numbers in daily life (Dehaene & Mehler, 1992). This study aims to determine which of these two explanations better accounts for SNB. Participants were asked to generate random numbers from 1 to 12 while viewing either a regular or an inverted clockface. On a regular clockface smaller numbers are on the right, whereas on an inverted clockface they are on the left. Both theories predict SNB for the inverted clockface. However, for the regular clockface, frequency of use would predict SNB, while pseudoneglect would predict a bias towards larger numbers. Results showed SNB in the inverted clockface condition, but no bias in the regular clockface condition. These findings suggest that SNB arises when pseudoneglect and frequency of use align but is absent when they conflict. Overall, the results indicate that both pseudoneglect and frequency of use contribute to SNB in some degrees
Walking during the encoding of described environments enhances a heading-independent spatial representation
Full text linkPrevious studies demonstrated that physical movement enhanced spatial updating in described environments. However, those movements were executed only after the encoding of the environment, minimally affecting the development of the spatial representation. Thus, we investigated whether and how participants could benefit from the execution of physical movement during the encoding of described environments, in terms of enhanced spatial updating. Using the judgement of relative directions task, we compared the effects of walking both during and after the description of the environment, and walking only after the description on spatial updating. Spatial updating was evaluated in terms of accuracy and response times in different headings. We found that the distribution of response times across Headings seemed not to be related to the physical movement executed, whereas the distribution of accuracy scores seemed to significantly change with the action executed. Indeed, when no movement occurred during the encoding of the environment, a preference for the learning heading was found, which did not emerge when walking during encoding occurred. Therefore, the results seem to suggest that physical movement during encoding supports the development of a heading-independent representation of described environments, reducing the anchoring for a preferred heading in favor of a global representation
The Spatial Representation of Angles
Full text linkWe investigated whether angle magnitude, similarly to numerical quantities\ud
(i.e., the spatial-numerical association of response codes effect),\ud
is associated to the side of response execution.\ud
In addition, we investigated whether this association has the properties of a spatially oriented mental line,\ud
since angles are taught in a right-to-left progression.\ud
We tested two groups of participants: civil engineering students\ud
(high familiarity with angles) and psychology students (low familiarity with angles).\ud
In Experiment 1, participants were asked to judge the continuity of the angles’ arms (continuous vs. dashed).\ud
Magnitude of the angles was task-irrelevant.\ud
In Experiment 2, they were asked to judge whether the presented angles were smaller or larger than a right angle (90°).\ud
Therefore, the angle magnitude was relevant for performing the task.\ud
Overall, engineering students responded faster with their left hand to large angles and\ud
with their right hand to small angles.\ud
Conversely, psychology students did not show any reliable differences between left- and right-hand responses.\ud
In the case of engineering students, the spatial association has a right-to-left (counter clockwise) direction,\ud
suggesting the influence of education and practice on the mental representation of angle magnitude
A perspective review on the role of engine sound in speed perception and control: state of the art and methodological suggestions
Full text linkIn this review we focus on the role of in-car sound, specifically the artificial engine sounds, on drivers' speed perception and control, a topic that has received little attention so far. Previous studies indicate that removing or reducing engine sound leads drivers to underestimate speed and, consequently, to drive faster. Furthermore, evidence suggests that specific sound frequencies could play a role in this process, highlighting the importance of in-car sound features. First, we show that the amount of research in the field is scarce and rather outdated, and that this is largely due to the fact that industrial research is subject to very few publications. Then, we examine benefits and limitations of different research paradigms used and we propose a protocol to investigate systematically the phenomenon. In particular, we argue for the benefits of a wider use of psychophysical methods in speed perception, a field that has been typically explored by means of driving simulation. Finally, we highlight some methodological and statistical limitations that might impact the interpretation of the evidence considered. Our methodological considerations could be particularly useful for researchers aiming to investigate the impact of sound on speed perception and control, as well as for those involved in the design of in-car sounds. These are particularly relevant for the design of electric vehicles, which represent a challenge but also the ideal testing ground to advance the knowledge in the field
Panic disorder patients and healthy people differently identify their own heart frequency through sound
Full text linkThe ability to detect the perceptual cues related to cardiac activity is an important aspect related to the onset and maintenance of some psychopathological disorders, such as panic disorder. We tested two groups – panic disorder (PD) patients and healthy participants – in order to examine the ability to estimate participants’ own heart frequency. We used an auditory identification task, based on the administration of auditory tracks representative of ecological sounds of heartbeat. Results showed that all healthy participants underestimated their own heart frequency, whereas the majority of PD patients overestimated it. This different response tendency could influence the development of psychopathologies such as panic disorder. These outcomes suggest the possible development of trainings for PD patients based on the use of auditory stimulation
It’s SNARC o’ clock: manipulating the salience of the context in a conceptual replication of Bächtold et al.’s (1998) clockface study
Full text linkThe Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect consists in faster left-/right-key responses to small/large numbers. (Bächtold et al., Neuropsychologia 36:731–735, 1998) reported the reversal of this effect after eliciting the context of a clockface—where small numbers are represented on the right and large numbers on the left. The present study investigates how the salience of a particular spatial-numerical context, which reflects the level of activation of the context in working memory, can alter Spatial Numerical Associations (SNAs). Four experiments presented the clockface as context and gradually increased its salience using different tasks. In the first two experiments (low salience), the context was presented at the beginning of the experiment and its retrieval was not required to perform the tasks (i.e., random number generation in Experiment 1, magnitude classification and parity judgement in Experiment 2). Results revealed regular left-to-right SNAs, unaffected by the context. In Experiment 3 (medium salience), participants performed magnitude classification and parity judgement (primary task), and a Go/No-go (secondary task) which required the retrieval of the context. Neither the SNARC effect nor a reversed-SNARC emerged, suggesting that performance was affected by the context. Finally, in Experiment 4 (high salience), the primary task required participants to classify numbers based on their position on the clockface. Results revealed a reversed SNARC, as in (Bächtold et al., Neuropsychologia 36:731–735, 1998). In conclusion, SNARC is disrupted when the context is retrieved in a secondary task, but its reversal is observed only when the context is relevant for the primary task
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