时空联系的反应编码形式:视觉性空间编码而非言语性空间编码

The Type of Response Codes on Time-Space Association: Visuospatial Coding Not Verbal-Spatial Coding

时间和空间存在着密切联系,也反映在空间–时间的反应编码联结(spatial-temporal association of response codes, STEARC)效应上。而对于STEARC效应的解释却存在视觉性空间编码和言语性空间编码的争议。本研究选用5 s以下的短时距作为实验材料,借鉴Gevers等人(2010)的研究范式,通过操纵反应的形式和按键所对应的言语性概念及视觉空间位置来考察时空联系的反应编码形式。实验1中,在传统按键条件下发现了STEARC效应,表明汉语背景下的个体在对时距长短按键反应可以产生STEARC效应。实验2仅考虑反应的空间概念“左右”,采用口头报告“左右”对时距长短反应,发现口头报告“左右”对时距长短反应并不能产生STEARC效应,结果表明单一的言语性空间编码并不能产生STEARC效应。实验3中,排除言语性空间编码时,单一的视觉性编码产生了典型的STEARC效应。以上结果表明在时距知觉的范畴下,时空联系的反应编码联结存在着单一的视觉性空间编码而非言语性空间编码。

It has been well known that a tight association exists between time and space. The Spatial-Tem- poral association of response codes (STEARC) effect, which reports the observation that individual respond is faster with left-hand side to short duration or past information and with right-hand side to long duration or future information, is regarded as strong evidence for this association. But, the explanation of the STEARC effect is on debates, that is visuospatial coding or verbal-spatial coding. With respect to visuospatial coding, the STEARC effect can result from a correspondence between the position of the effector and the position of the temporal information in the mental time line. With respect to verbal-spatial coding, the STEARC effect results from a correspondence between the polarity of the verbally coding temporal information and the polarity of response as left and right. These two accounts were supported by the mental time line hypothesis and polarity correspondence hypothesis respectively. In order to resolve this debate, this study employed bi-nary classification task and manipulated the form of the response to explore the type of response code on time-space association. Subjects judged whether a cross lasted for a short (1 s) or long (2 s) duration. The reaction times (RTs) of correct reaction were served as measurement index. In ex-periment 1, subjects judged the duration of a cross by pressing the left key “C” and right key “M” of the computer keyboard. A STEARC effect indicated by the significant interaction between time and response as usual was found. It suggests that adopting short duration to explore the STEARC effect is efficient in contest of Chinese. In the experiment 2, Given that visuospatial coding did not exist in the verbal condition, these results suggested that the verbal-spatial coding is not sufficient to obtain a regular STEARC effect. In the experiment 3, we used a manipulation to prevent verbal- spatial coding of the response and only exist visuospatial coding. The results showed that a regular STEARC effect is still obtained;this proved that visuospatial coding is sufficient to obtain an association of time and space. These results suggest that cognitive representation of elapsing time is likely to be visuospatial in nature. The findings support the hypothesis that the representation of time is spatially organized, with short durations represented on the left space and longer ones on the right. Additionally, since some research suggest that the number-space interaction exists verbal spatial coding and visuospatial coding, our results can imply that the cognition of time and number do exist differences.