Vicovaro Michele, Boscariol Riccardo, Dalmaso Mario
Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padova, Italy.
Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, via Venezia 8, 35131, Padova, Italy.
Atten Percept Psychophys. 2025 Apr;87(3):1042-1059. doi: 10.3758/s13414-025-03012-x. Epub 2025 Jan 29.
Numerical and nonnumerical magnitudes can be represented along a hypothetical left-to-right continuum, where smaller quantities are associated with the left side and larger quantities with the right side. However, these representations are flexible, as their intensity and direction can be modulated by various contextual cues and task demands. In four experiments, we investigated the spatial representation of visual speed. Visual speed is inherently connected to physical space and spatial directions, making it distinct from other magnitudes. With this in mind, we explored whether the spatial representation of visual speed aligns with the typical left-to-right orientation or is influenced dynamically by the movement direction of the stimuli. Participants compared the speed of random dot kinematograms to a reference speed using lateralised response keys. On each trial, all dots moved consistently in one single direction, which varied across the experiments and could also vary from trial to trial in Experiments 2 and 4. The dot movements were left-to-right (Experiment 1), random across a 360° spectrum (Experiment 2), right-to-left (Experiment 3), and random left-to-right or right-to-left (Experiment 4). The results supported a relatively stable left-to-right spatial representation of speed (Experiments 1-3), which was compromised by mutable motion directions along the horizontal axis (Experiment 4). We suggest that representing stimuli as belonging to a single set rather than different sets, may be crucial for the emergence of spatial representations of quantities.
数值和非数值大小可以沿着一个假设的从左到右的连续体来表示，其中较小的量与左侧相关联，而较大的量与右侧相关联。然而，这些表示是灵活的，因为它们的强度和方向可以受到各种情境线索和任务要求的调节。在四个实验中，我们研究了视觉速度的空间表征。视觉速度与物理空间和空间方向有着内在的联系，这使其有别于其他大小。考虑到这一点，我们探讨了视觉速度的空间表征是否与典型的从左到右的方向一致，或者是否受到刺激运动方向的动态影响。参与者使用侧化的反应键将随机点运动图的速度与参考速度进行比较。在每次试验中，所有的点都在一个单一方向上一致移动，这个方向在不同实验中有所不同，在实验2和实验4中也可能在每次试验中有所变化。点的运动方向是从左到右（实验1）、在360°范围内随机（实验2）、从右到左（实验3）以及随机的从左到右或从右到左（实验4）。结果支持了速度相对稳定的从左到右的空间表征（实验1 - 3），而这种表征会因水平轴上可变的运动方向而受到影响（实验4）。我们认为，将刺激表示为属于单个集合而非不同集合，可能对于数量空间表征的出现至关重要。
