Does the Level of Temporal Demand Affect Activation of the Mental Timeline?
The space-time congruency effect indicates faster processing of past-/future-related words with the left/right response key, suggesting the presence of the horizontal Mental Time Line (MTL). Typically, this effect is observed in the tasks with high temporal demand (i.e., past versus future categoriz...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Ubiquity Press
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of Cognition |
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| Online Access: | https://account.journalofcognition.org/index.php/up-j-jc/article/view/448 |
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| author | Katharina Kühne Alex Miklashevsky Anastasia Malyshevskaya |
| author_facet | Katharina Kühne Alex Miklashevsky Anastasia Malyshevskaya |
| author_sort | Katharina Kühne |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The space-time congruency effect indicates faster processing of past-/future-related words with the left/right response key, suggesting the presence of the horizontal Mental Time Line (MTL). Typically, this effect is observed in the tasks with high temporal demand (i.e., past versus future categorization), but not in those with the low relevance of the time dimension (i.e., sensicality judgments). However, it remains unclear whether intermediate levels of temporal demand are sufficient to activate the MTL. To address this, we conducted three experiments in which participants categorized the same set of temporal words based on their relation to living entities (Experiment 1), space (Experiment 2), and general time (Experiment 3). In individual analyses of the experiments, the space-time congruency effect was absent in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, the effect emerged in reaction times but not in accuracy. In Experiment 3, it was observed in both measures. Subsequent comparisons across experiments suggested reliable differences between Experiments 2 and 3 in reaction times and between Experiment 3 and the other two experiments in accuracy. Our results provide evidence that MTL activation depends on the level of temporal demand required by the task. The findings support the notion that mental representations are context-sensitive rather than fixed. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2cf207e87bfe42bdb10c95ce42418e93 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2514-4820 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Cognition |
| spelling | doaj-art-2cf207e87bfe42bdb10c95ce42418e932025-08-20T02:33:24ZengUbiquity PressJournal of Cognition2514-48202025-05-0181373710.5334/joc.448447Does the Level of Temporal Demand Affect Activation of the Mental Timeline?Katharina Kühne0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1334-1563Alex Miklashevsky1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2693-5344Anastasia Malyshevskaya2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8082-711XPotsdam Embodied Cognition Group, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24–25, House 14, 14476 Potsdam-GolmPotsdam Embodied Cognition Group, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24–25, House 14, 14476 Potsdam-Golm; Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Berlin; Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universität Berlin, BerlinPotsdam Embodied Cognition Group, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24–25, House 14, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, DE; Cognitive Health and Intelligence Center, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Krivokolenniy Pereulok 3, 101000, MoscowThe space-time congruency effect indicates faster processing of past-/future-related words with the left/right response key, suggesting the presence of the horizontal Mental Time Line (MTL). Typically, this effect is observed in the tasks with high temporal demand (i.e., past versus future categorization), but not in those with the low relevance of the time dimension (i.e., sensicality judgments). However, it remains unclear whether intermediate levels of temporal demand are sufficient to activate the MTL. To address this, we conducted three experiments in which participants categorized the same set of temporal words based on their relation to living entities (Experiment 1), space (Experiment 2), and general time (Experiment 3). In individual analyses of the experiments, the space-time congruency effect was absent in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, the effect emerged in reaction times but not in accuracy. In Experiment 3, it was observed in both measures. Subsequent comparisons across experiments suggested reliable differences between Experiments 2 and 3 in reaction times and between Experiment 3 and the other two experiments in accuracy. Our results provide evidence that MTL activation depends on the level of temporal demand required by the task. The findings support the notion that mental representations are context-sensitive rather than fixed.https://account.journalofcognition.org/index.php/up-j-jc/article/view/448temporal conceptsmental time linespace-time congruency effectembodied cognition |
| spellingShingle | Katharina Kühne Alex Miklashevsky Anastasia Malyshevskaya Does the Level of Temporal Demand Affect Activation of the Mental Timeline? Journal of Cognition temporal concepts mental time line space-time congruency effect embodied cognition |
| title | Does the Level of Temporal Demand Affect Activation of the Mental Timeline? |
| title_full | Does the Level of Temporal Demand Affect Activation of the Mental Timeline? |
| title_fullStr | Does the Level of Temporal Demand Affect Activation of the Mental Timeline? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Does the Level of Temporal Demand Affect Activation of the Mental Timeline? |
| title_short | Does the Level of Temporal Demand Affect Activation of the Mental Timeline? |
| title_sort | does the level of temporal demand affect activation of the mental timeline |
| topic | temporal concepts mental time line space-time congruency effect embodied cognition |
| url | https://account.journalofcognition.org/index.php/up-j-jc/article/view/448 |
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