Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Via Magnasco 2, 20149, Milan, Italy.
Humane Technology Lab, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy.
Psychol Res. 2023 Nov;87(8):2499-2510. doi: 10.1007/s00426-023-01830-y. Epub 2023 May 19.
Space can be used as a metaphor to describe semantic and perceptual similarity. Research has shown that similarity and spatial information can influence each other. On the one hand, similarity entails spatial closeness; on the other hand, proximity leads to similarity judgment. This spatial information can be stored in declarative memory and measured later on. However, it is unknown if phonological similarity/dissimilarity between words is represented as spatial closeness/distance in declarative memory. In this study, 61 young adults were tested on a remember-know (RK) spatial distance task. Participants learned noun pairs on the PC screen that were manipulated concerning their phonological similarity (similar vs. dissimilar) and reciprocal spatial distance (near vs. far). In the recognition phase, old-new, RK, and spatial distance judgments were asked. We found that for hit responses in both R and K judgments, phonologically similar word pairs were remembered closer compared to phonologically dissimilar pairs. This was also true for false alarms after K judgments. Lastly, the actual spatial distance at encoding was only retained for hit R responses. Results suggest that phonological similarity/dissimilarity is represented respectively with spatial closeness/distance and that this information is stored in the neurocognitive system of declarative memory.
空间可以被用来描述语义和感知相似性的隐喻。研究表明，相似性和空间信息可以相互影响。一方面，相似性意味着空间上的接近；另一方面，接近会导致相似性判断。这种空间信息可以存储在陈述性记忆中，并在以后进行测量。然而，目前还不清楚单词之间的语音相似性/差异性是否在陈述性记忆中表现为空间上的接近/距离。在这项研究中，61 名年轻成年人在一个记住-知道（RK）空间距离任务中接受了测试。参与者在 PC 屏幕上学习名词对，这些名词对的语音相似性（相似对与不相似对）和相互空间距离（近对与远对）受到操纵。在识别阶段，询问了旧新、RK 和空间距离判断。我们发现，在 R 和 K 判断的击中反应中，语音相似的单词对比语音不相似的单词对被记得更近。这也适用于 K 判断后的假警报。最后，在编码时的实际空间距离仅保留在 R 反应的击中项中。结果表明，语音相似性/差异性分别与空间接近性/距离相对应，并且该信息存储在陈述性记忆的神经认知系统中。
