Deliberative space controls non - deliberative space on the spatial representations of events and time

Abstract

On everyday cognition there is a set of modal imaginistic representations that we attend to. Current findings show that the intrinsic and extrinsic features of certain events are routinely captured by these kinds of representations. On this work we wonder whether the mental simulations of intrinsic and extrinsic events’ features modulate between them or do not? How their interactions are modulated by attention mechanisms and working memory demands? In order to answer these questions we did two experiments alternating the task set order (Experiment 1: Schema task-Temporal task; Experiment 2: Temporal task-Schema task). A previous Norming study, the Experiment 1 and the Experiment 2 revealed a stable commonality in the way that the aspect angle of verbs (Horizontal, Vertical or Neutral) are represented across participants and tasks. Additionally, at the Experiment 1 the space-time congruency effect was registered: 30 Uruguayan speakers participants responded faster when past was mapped to the left hand and future to the right hand than with the opposite mapping. Instead of, at the Experiment 2 the congruency effect was removed when 30 participants did an early Temporal task. On the aim of understanding the participant’s response strategy when deliberative (Schema task) and non-deliberative space (Temporal task) become together on a task set, we suggested the task set was a kind of explicit task-cuing procedure. Two opposed predictions were done according the predictions of two alternative models (Switching model and Compound stimuli model): the first predicted the congruency effect for Horizontal and Vertical schema whenever the task order, the second predicted the removing of congruency effect for both schemas when the Temporal task became latter at the task set. We argued these findings suggested the attentional control of deliberative spatial response remove space as a ground domain on space-time mappings.Mainly, the results suggest mental simulations not only contain analogical dimensions linked to the events’ internal features, but also represent in analogical fashion aspects which are external to the events, such as their time.