Space trumps time when talking about objects

Griffiths, Debra, Bester, Andre and Coventry, Kenny ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2591-7723 (2019) Space trumps time when talking about objects. Cognitive Science, 43 (3). ISSN 0364-0213

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Abstract

The nature of the relationship between the concepts of space and time in the human mind is much debated. Some claim that space is primary and that it structures time (cf. Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) while others (cf. Walsh, 2003) maintain no difference in status between them. Using fully immersive virtual reality (VR), we examined the influence of object distance and time of appearance on choice of demonstratives (this and that) to refer to objects. Critically, demonstratives can be used spatially (this/that red triangle) and temporally (this/that month). Experiment 1 showed a pattern of demonstrative usage in VR that is consistent with results found in real‐world studies. Experiments 2, 3, and 4 manipulated both when and where objects appeared, providing scenarios where participants were free to use demonstratives in either a temporal or spatial sense. Although we find evidence for time of presentation affecting object mention, the experiments found that demonstrative choice was affected only by distance. These results support the view that spatial uses of demonstratives are privileged over temporal uses.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Psychology
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Cognition, Action and Perception
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	27 Mar 2019 10:30
Last Modified:	25 Sep 2024 14:00
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/70354
DOI:	10.1111/cogs.12719

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