TY - JOUR A1 - Zhou, Yuefang A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Mimicking non-verbal emotional expressions and empathy development in simulated consultations BT - an experimental feasibility study JF - Patient education and counseling N2 - Objective: To explore the feasibility of applying an experimental design to study the relationship between non-verbal emotions and empathy development in simulated consultations. Method: In video-recorded simulated consultations, twenty clinicians were randomly allocated to either an experimental group (instructed to mimic non-verbal emotions of a simulated patient, SP) or a control group (no such instruction). Baseline empathy scores were obtained before consultation, relational empathy was rated by SP after consultation. Multilevel logistic regression modelled the probability of mimicry occurrence, controlling for baseline empathy and clinical experience. ANCOVA compared group differences on relational empathy and consultation smoothness. Results: Instructed mimicry lasted longer than spontaneous mimicry. Mimicry was marginally related to improved relational empathy. SP felt being treated more like a whole person during consultations with spontaneous mimicry. Clinicians who displayed spontaneous mimicry felt consultations went more smoothly. Conclusion: The experimental approach improved our understanding of how non-verbal emotional mimicry contributed to relational empathy development during consultations. Further work should ascertain the potential of instructed mimicry to enhance empathy development. Practice implications: Understanding how non-verbal emotional mimicry impacts on patients’ perceived clinician empathy during consultations may inform training and intervention programme development. KW - Mimicry KW - Non-verbal emotion KW - Empathy KW - Experimental design Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2017.08.016 SN - 0738-3991 VL - 101 IS - 2 SP - 304 EP - 309 PB - Elsevier Science CY - Clare ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lobmaier, Janek S. A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Facial Feedback Affects Perceived Intensity but Not Quality of Emotional Expressions JF - Brain Sciences N2 - Motivated by conflicting evidence in the literature, we re-assessed the role of facial feedback when detecting quantitative or qualitative changes in others’ emotional expressions. Fifty-three healthy adults observed self-paced morph sequences where the emotional facial expression either changed quantitatively (i.e., sad-to-neutral, neutral-to-sad, happy-to-neutral, neutral-to-happy) or qualitatively (i.e. from sad to happy, or from happy to sad). Observers held a pen in their own mouth to induce smiling or frowning during the detection task. When morph sequences started or ended with neutral expressions we replicated a congruency effect: Happiness was perceived longer and sooner while smiling; sadness was perceived longer and sooner while frowning. Interestingly, no such congruency effects occurred for transitions between emotional expressions. These results suggest that facial feedback is especially useful when evaluating the intensity of a facial expression, but less so when we have to recognize which emotion our counterpart is expressing. KW - embodied cognition KW - emotional expression KW - emotion recognition KW - facial feedback KW - face morphing Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci5030357 SN - 2076-3425 VL - 5 IS - 3 SP - 357 EP - 368 PB - MDPI AG CY - Basel ER - TY - GEN A1 - Lobmaier, Janek S. A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Facial Feedback Affects Perceived Intensity but Not Quality of Emotional Expressions N2 - Motivated by conflicting evidence in the literature, we re-assessed the role of facial feedback when detecting quantitative or qualitative changes in others’ emotional expressions. Fifty-three healthy adults observed self-paced morph sequences where the emotional facial expression either changed quantitatively (i.e., sad-to-neutral, neutral-to-sad, happy-to-neutral, neutral-to-happy) or qualitatively (i.e. from sad to happy, or from happy to sad). Observers held a pen in their own mouth to induce smiling or frowning during the detection task. When morph sequences started or ended with neutral expressions we replicated a congruency effect: Happiness was perceived longer and sooner while smiling; sadness was perceived longer and sooner while frowning. Interestingly, no such congruency effects occurred for transitions between emotional expressions. These results suggest that facial feedback is especially useful when evaluating the intensity of a facial expression, but less so when we have to recognize which emotion our counterpart is expressing. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 302 KW - embodied cognition KW - emotional expression KW - emotion recognition KW - facial feedback KW - face morphing Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-96428 SP - 357 EP - 368 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Myachykov, Andriy A1 - Chapman, Ashley J. A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Cross-representational interactions BT - Interface and overlap mechanisms JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - A crucial question facing cognitive science concerns the nature of conceptual representations as well as the constraints on the interactions between them. One specific question we address in this paper is what makes cross-representational interplay possible? We offer two distinct theoretical scenarios: according to the first scenario, co-activated knowledge representations interact with the help of an interface established between them via congruent activation in a mediating third-party general cognitive mechanism, e.g., attention. According to the second scenario, co-activated knowledge representations interact due to an overlap between their features, for example when they share a magnitude component. First, we make a case for cross representational interplay based on grounded and situated theories of cognition. Second, we discuss interface-based interactions between distinct (i.e., non-overlapping) knowledge representations. Third, we discuss how co-activated representations may share their architecture via partial overlap. Finally, we outline constraints regarding the flexibility of these proposed mechanisms. KW - representation KW - cross-representational interaction KW - simulation KW - embodiment KW - grounded cognition Y1 - 2017 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 7 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nazir, Tatjana A. A1 - Hrycyk, Lianna A1 - Moreau, Quentin A1 - Frak, Victor A1 - Cheylus, Anne A1 - Ott, Laurent A1 - Lindemann, Oliver A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Paulignan, Yves A1 - Delevoye-Turrell, Yvonne T1 - A simple technique to study embodied language processes BT - the grip force sensor JF - Behavior research methods : a journal of the Psychonomic Society N2 - Research in cognitive neuroscience has shown that brain structures serving perceptual, emotional, and motor processes are also recruited during the understanding of language when it refers to emotion, perception, and action. However, the exact linguistic and extralinguistic conditions under which such language-induced activity in modality-specific cortex is triggered are not yet well understood. The purpose of this study is to introduce a simple experimental technique that allows for the online measure of language-induced activity in motor structures of the brain. This technique consists in the use of a grip force sensor that captures subtle grip force variations while participants listen to words and sentences. Since grip force reflects activity in motor brain structures, the continuous monitoring of force fluctuations provides a fine-grained estimation of motor activity across time. In other terms, this method allows for both localization of the source of language-induced activity to motor brain structures and high temporal resolution of the recorded data. To facilitate comparison of the data to be collected with this tool, we present two experiments that describe in detail the technical setup, the nature of the recorded data, and the analyses (including justification about the data filtering and artifact rejection) that we applied. We also discuss how the tool could be used in other domains of behavioral research. KW - Grip-force sensor KW - Embodiment KW - Language KW - Motor system Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-015-0696-7 SN - 1554-351X SN - 1554-3528 VL - 49 SP - 61 EP - 73 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kewenig, Viktor A1 - Zhou, Yuefang A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Commentary: Robots as intentional agents BT - Using neuroscientific methods to make robots appear more social T2 - Frontiers in psychology KW - intentionality KW - social robots KW - verbal reports KW - humanoid KW - turing test Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01131 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 9 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Werner, Karsten A1 - Raab, Markus A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Moving arms BT - the effects of sensorimotor information on the problem-solving process JF - Thinking & Reasoning N2 - Embodied cognition postulates a bi-directional link between the human body and its cognitive functions. Whether this holds for higher cognitive functions such as problem solving is unknown. We predicted that arm movement manipulations performed by the participants could affect the problem-solving solutions. We tested this prediction in quantitative reasoning tasks that allowed two solutions to each problem (addition or subtraction). In two studies with healthy adults (N=53 and N=50), we found an effect of problem-congruent movements on problem solutions. Consistent with embodied cognition, sensorimotor information gained via right or left arm movements affects the solution in different types of problem-solving tasks. KW - Embodied cognition KW - eye movements KW - problem solving Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/13546783.2018.1494630 SN - 1354-6783 SN - 1464-0708 VL - 25 IS - 2 SP - 171 EP - 191 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Repeating Numbers Reduces Results: Violations of the Identity Axiom in Mental Arithmetic JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - Even simple mental arithmetic is fraught with cognitive biases. For example, adding repeated numbers (so-called tie problems, e.g., 2 + 2) not only has a speed and accuracy advantage over adding different numbers (e.g., 1 + 3) but may also lead to under-representation of the result relative to a standard value (Charras et al., 2012, 2014). Does the tie advantage merely reflect easier encoding or retrieval compared to non-ties, or also a distorted result representation? To answer this question, 47 healthy adults performed two tasks, both of which indicated under-representation of tie results: In a result-to-position pointing task (Experiment 1) we measured the spatial mapping of numbers and found a left-bias for tie compared to non-tie problems. In a result-to-line-length production task (Experiment 2) we measured the underlying magnitude representation directly and obtained shorter lines for tie-compared to non-tie problems. These observations suggest that the processing benefit of tie problems comes at the cost of representational reduction of result meaning. This conclusion is discussed in the context of a recent model of arithmetic heuristics and biases. KW - AHAB KW - cognitive bias KW - mental arithmetic KW - numerical cognition KW - operational momentum KW - SNARC KW - tie problems Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02453 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 9 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hartmann, Matthias A1 - Laubrock, Jochen A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - The visual number world BT - a dynamic approach to study the mathematical mind JF - The quarterly journal of experimental psychology N2 - In the domain of language research, the simultaneous presentation of a visual scene and its auditory description (i.e., the visual world paradigm) has been used to reveal the timing of mental mechanisms. Here we apply this rationale to the domain of numerical cognition in order to explore the differences between fast and slow arithmetic performance, and to further study the role of spatial-numerical associations during mental arithmetic. We presented 30 healthy adults simultaneously with visual displays containing four numbers and with auditory addition and subtraction problems. Analysis of eye movements revealed that participants look spontaneously at the numbers they currently process (operands, solution). Faster performance was characterized by shorter latencies prior to fixating the relevant numbers and fewer revisits to the first operand while computing the solution. These signatures of superior task performance were more pronounced for addition and visual numbers arranged in ascending order, and for subtraction and numbers arranged in descending order (compared to the opposite pairings). Our results show that the visual number world-paradigm provides on-line access to the mind during mental arithmetic, is able to capture variability in arithmetic performance, and is sensitive to visual layout manipulations that are otherwise not reflected in response time measurements. KW - Eye movements KW - Mental arithmetic KW - Mental number line KW - Visual world paradigm Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2016.1240812 SN - 1747-0218 SN - 1747-0226 VL - 71 IS - 1 SP - 28 EP - 36 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER - TY - GEN A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Commentary on: E. H. Toomarian ; E. M. Hubbard, On the genesis of spatial-numerical associations: Evolutionary and cultural factors co-construct the mental number line. - (Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. - vol 95, 2018, pg 189 - 190) T2 - Neuroscience & biobehavioral reviews : official journal of the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.12.018 SN - 0149-7634 SN - 1873-7528 VL - 98 SP - 335 EP - 335 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hartmann, Matthias A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Mast, Fred Walter T1 - Sharing a mental number line across individuals? The role of body position and empathy in joint numerical cognition JF - The quarterly journal of experimental psychology N2 - A growing body of research shows that the human brain acts differently when performing a task together with another person than when performing the same task alone. In this study, we investigated the influence of a co-actor on numerical cognition using a joint random number generation (RNG) task. We found that participants generated relatively smaller numbers when they were located to the left (vs. right) of a co-actor (Experiment 1), as if the two individuals shared a mental number line and predominantly selected numbers corresponding to their relative body position. Moreover, the mere presence of another person on the left or right side or the processing of numbers from loudspeaker on the left or right side had no influence on the magnitude of generated numbers (Experiment 2), suggesting that a bias in RNG only emerged during interpersonal interactions. Interestingly, the effect of relative body position on RNG was driven by participants with high trait empathic concern towards others, pointing towards a mediating role of feelings of sympathy for joint compatibility effects. Finally, the spatial bias emerged only after the co-actors swapped their spatial position, suggesting that joint spatial representations are constructed only after the spatial reference frame became salient. In contrast to previous studies, our findings cannot be explained by action co-representation because the consecutive production of numbers does not involve conflict at the motor response level. Our results therefore suggest that spatial reference coding, rather than motor mirroring, can determine joint compatibility effects. Our results demonstrate how physical properties of interpersonal situations, such as the relative body position, shape seemingly abstract cognition. KW - Mental number line KW - random number generation KW - joint action KW - joint Simon effect KW - empathy KW - Interpersonal Reactivity Index Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/1747021818809254 SN - 1747-0218 SN - 1747-0226 VL - 72 IS - 7 SP - 1732 EP - 1740 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER - TY - GEN A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Commentary on: Elizabeth H. Toomarian; Edward M. Hubbard: On the genesis of spatial-numerical associations : evolutionary and cultural factors co-construct the mental number line. - In: Neuroscience & biobehavioral reviews. - 90 (2018), S. 184 - 199 T2 - Neuroscience & biobehavioral reviews : official journal of the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.10.002 SN - 0149-7634 SN - 1873-7528 VL - 95 SP - 189 EP - 190 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Belli, Francesco A1 - Felisatti, Arianna A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - "BreaThink" BT - breathing affects production and perception of quantities JF - Experimental brain research N2 - Cognition is shaped by signals from outside and within the body. Following recent evidence of interoceptive signals modulating higher-level cognition, we examined whether breathing changes the production and perception of quantities. In Experiment 1, 22 adults verbally produced on average larger random numbers after inhaling than after exhaling. In Experiment 2, 24 further adults estimated the numerosity of dot patterns that were briefly shown after either inhaling or exhaling. Again, we obtained on average larger responses following inhalation than exhalation. These converging results extend models of situated cognition according to which higher-level cognition is sensitive to transient interoceptive states. KW - breathing KW - embodied cognition KW - interoception KW - numerical cognition KW - situated cognition Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-021-06147-z SN - 0014-4819 SN - 1432-1106 VL - 239 IS - 8 SP - 2489 EP - 2499 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - GEN A1 - Miklashevsky, Alex A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Motor simulation in sentence-picture verification BT - Beyond Ostarek et al. (2019) T2 - Cognitive processing : international quarterly of cognitive science; Abstracts and authors of the 8th International Conference on Spatial Cognition: Cognition and Action in a Plurality of Spaces (ICSC 2021) TALKS: Submission 58 N2 - Background and Aims: Ostarek et al. (2019) claimed a conclusive demonstration that language comprehension relies profoundly on visual simulations. They presented participants with visual noise during sentence-picture verification (SPV) and measured lateralized button response speed. The authors selectively eliminated the classical congruency effect (faster yes decisions when pictures match the objects implied by the sentences) with ‘‘high level’’ noise made from images of other objects. However, that visual noise included tool pictures, known to activate lateralized motor affordances. Moreover, some of their sentences described motor actions. This raises the question whether motor simulation may have contaminated their results. Methods: Replicating Ostarek et al. (2019), 33 right-handed participants performed SPV but either without visual noise or while viewing (a) only left-handled or (b) only right-handled or (c) alternatingly left- and right-handled tools. Accuracy and reaction times of manual yes responses were analyzed. Additionally, hand-relatedness of sentences was rated. Results: Replicating Ostarek et al. (2019), the classical SPV congruency effect appeared without noise and vanished when alternatingly handled tools were presented. Crucially, it reappeared when noise objects were consistently either left- or righthandled. Higher hand-relatedness of sentence content reduced SPV performance and accuracy was lower with right-handled noise. Conclusion: First, we demonstrated an interaction between motor- related language, visual affordances and motor responses in SPV. This result supports the embodied view of language processing. Second, we identified a motor process not previously known in SPV. This extends our understanding of mental simulation and calls for methodological controls in future studies. Y1 - 2021 UR - https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10339-021-01058-x.pdf U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-021-01058-x SN - 1612-4782 SN - 1612-4790 VL - 22 IS - Suppl. 1 SP - S32 EP - S33 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sixtus, Elena A1 - Lindemann, Oliver A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Stimulating numbers BT - signatures of finger counting in numerosity processing JF - Psychological research : an international journal of perception, attention, memory, and action N2 - Finger counting is one of the first steps in the development of mature number concepts. With a one-to-one correspondence of fingers to numbers in Western finger counting, fingers hold two numerical meanings: one is based on the number of fingers raised and the second is based on their ordinal position within the habitual finger counting sequence. This study investigated how these two numerical meanings of fingers are intertwined with numerical cognition in adults. Participants received tactile stimulation on their fingertips of one hand and named either the number of fingers stimulated (2, 3, or 4 fingers; Experiment 1) or the number of stimulations on one fingertip (2, 3, or 4 stimulations; Experiment 2). Responses were faster and more accurate when the set of stimulated fingers corresponded to finger counting habits (Experiment 1) and when the number of stimulations matched the ordinal position of the stimulated finger (Experiment 2). These results show that tactile numerosity perception is affected by individual finger counting habits and that those habits give numerical meaning to single fingers. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-018-0982-y SN - 0340-0727 SN - 1430-2772 VL - 84 IS - 1 SP - 152 EP - 167 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Your neighbors define your value a study of spatial bias in number comparison JF - Acta psychologica : international journal of psychonomics N2 - Several chronometric biases in numerical cognition have informed our understanding of a mental number line (MNL). Complementing this approach, we investigated spatial performance in a magnitude comparison task. Participants located the larger or smaller number of a pair on a horizontal line representing the interval from 0 to 10. Experiments 1 and 2 used only number pairs one unit apart and found that digits were localized farther to the right with "select larger" instructions than with "select smaller" instructions. However, when numerical distance was varied (Experiment 3), digits were localized away from numerically near neighbors. This repulsion effect reveals context-specific distortions in number representation not previously noticed with chronometric measures. KW - Magnitude comparison KW - Mental number line KW - Numerical cognition KW - Spatial bias Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2013.01.004 SN - 0001-6918 VL - 142 IS - 3 SP - 308 EP - 313 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - INPR A1 - Murray, Wayne S. A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Tatler, Benjamin W. T1 - Serial and parallel processes in eye movement control - current controversies and future directions T2 - The quarterly journal of experimental psychology N2 - In this editorial for the Special Issue on Serial and Parallel Processing in Reading we explore the background to the current debate concerning whether the word recognition processes in reading are strictly serialsequential or take place in an overlapping parallel fashion. We consider the history of the controversy and some of the underlying assumptions, together with an analysis of the types of evidence and arguments that have been adduced to both sides of the debate, concluding that both accounts necessarily presuppose some weakening of, or elasticity in, the eyemind assumption. We then consider future directions, both for reading research and for scene viewing, and wrap up the editorial with a brief overview of the following articles and their conclusions. KW - Serial and parallel KW - Eye movements KW - Reading KW - Scene perception KW - Modality KW - Modelling KW - Eyemind assumption KW - Decoupling KW - Alan Kennedy Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2012.759979 SN - 1747-0218 VL - 66 IS - 3 SP - 417 EP - 428 PB - Wiley CY - Hove ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Riello, Marianna A1 - Giordano, Bruno L. A1 - Rusconi, Elena T1 - Singing numbers ... in cognitive space - a dual-task study of the link between pitch, space, and numbers JF - Topics in cognitive science N2 - We assessed the automaticity of spatial-numerical and spatial-musical associations by testing their intentionality and load sensitivity in a dual-task paradigm. In separate sessions, 16 healthy adults performed magnitude and pitch comparisons on sung numbers with variable pitch. Stimuli and response alternatives were identical, but the relevant stimulus attribute (pitch or number) differed between tasks. Concomitant tasks required retention of either color or location information. Results show that spatial associations of both magnitude and pitch are load sensitive and that the spatial association for pitch is more powerful than that for magnitude. These findings argue against the automaticity of spatial mappings in either stimulus dimension. KW - Auditory pitch KW - Dual task KW - Mental number line KW - SMARC KW - SNARC KW - Spatial coding Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/tops.12017 SN - 1756-8757 VL - 5 IS - 2 SP - 354 EP - 366 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Myachykov, Andriy A1 - Ellis, Rob A1 - Cangelosi, Angelo A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Visual and linguistic cues to graspable objects JF - Experimental brain research N2 - Two experiments investigated (1) how activation of manual affordances is triggered by visual and linguistic cues to manipulable objects and (2) whether graspable object parts play a special role in this process. Participants pressed a key to categorize manipulable target objects copresented with manipulable distractor objects on a computer screen. Three factors were varied in Experiment 1: (1) the target's and (2) the distractor's handles' orientation congruency with the lateral manual response and (3) the Visual Focus on one of the objects. In Experiment 2, a linguistic cue factor was added to these three factors-participants heard the name of one of the two objects prior to the target display onset. Analysis of participants' motor and oculomotor behaviour confirmed that perceptual and linguistic cues potentiated activation of grasp affordances. Both target- and distractor-related affordance effects were modulated by the presence of visual and linguistic cues. However, a differential visual attention mechanism subserved activation of compatibility effects associated with target and distractor objects. We also registered an independent implicit attention attraction effect from objects' handles, suggesting that graspable parts automatically attract attention during object viewing. This effect was further amplified by visual but not linguistic cues, thus providing initial evidence for a recent hypothesis about differential roles of visual and linguistic information in potentiating stable and variable affordances (Borghi in Language and action in cognitive neuroscience. Psychology Press, London, 2012). KW - Grasp affordances KW - Naming KW - Visual attention KW - Object categorization Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-013-3616-z SN - 0014-4819 VL - 229 IS - 4 SP - 545 EP - 559 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Festman, Yariv A1 - Adam, Jos J. A1 - Pratt, Jay A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Both hand position and movement direction modulate visual attention JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - The current study explored effects of continuous hand motion on the allocation of visual attention. A concurrent paradigm was used to combine visually concealed continuous hand movements with an attentionally demanding letter discrimination task. The letter probe appeared contingent upon the moving right hand passing through one of six positions. Discrimination responses were then collected via a keyboard press with the static left hand. Both the right hand's position and its movement direction systematically contributed to participants' visual sensitivity. Discrimination performance increased substantially when the right hand was distant from, but moving toward the visual probe location (replicating the far-hand effect, Festrnan et al., 2013). However, this effect disappeared when the probe appeared close to the static left hand, supporting the view that static and dynamic features of both hands combine in modulating pragmatic maps of attention. KW - embodied cognition KW - covert attention KW - hand dynamics KW - near-hand effect KW - perception Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00657 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 4 IS - 4 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Festman, Yariv A1 - Adam, Jos J. A1 - Pratt, Jay A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Continuous hand movement induces a far-hand bias in attentional priority JF - Attention, perception, & psychophysics : AP&P ; a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc. N2 - Previous research on the interaction between manual action and visual perception has focused on discrete movements or static postures and discovered better performance near the hands (the near-hand effect). However, in everyday behaviors, the hands are usually moving continuously between possible targets. Therefore, the current study explored the effects of continuous hand motion on the allocation of visual attention. Eleven healthy adults performed a visual discrimination task during cyclical concealed hand movements underneath a display. Both the current hand position and its movement direction systematically contributed to participants' visual sensitivity. Discrimination performance increased substantially when the hand was distant from but moving toward the visual probe location (a far-hand effect). Implications of this novel observation are discussed. KW - Embodied perception KW - Attention: Selective KW - Goal-directed movements Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-013-0430-4 SN - 1943-3921 VL - 75 IS - 4 SP - 644 EP - 649 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - INPR A1 - Caligiore, Daniele A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Vision, action and language unified through embodiment T2 - Psychological research : an international journal of perception, attention, memory, and action Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-012-0417-0 SN - 0340-0727 VL - 77 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 6 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tschentscher, Nadja A1 - Hauk, Olaf A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Pulvermüller, Friedemann T1 - You can count on the motor cortex finger counting habits modulate motor cortex activation evoked by numbers JF - NeuroImage : a journal of brain function N2 - The embodied cognition framework suggests that neural systems for perception and action are engaged during higher cognitive processes. In an event-related fMRI study, we tested this claim for the abstract domain of numerical symbol processing: is the human cortical motor system part of the representation of numbers, and is organization of numerical knowledge influenced by individual finger counting habits? Developmental studies suggest a link between numerals and finger counting habits due to the acquisition of numerical skills through finger counting in childhood. In the present study, digits 1 to 9 and the corresponding number words were presented visually to adults with different finger counting habits, i.e. left- and right-starters who reported that they usually start counting small numbers with their left and right hand, respectively. Despite the absence of overt hand movements, the hemisphere contralateral to the hand used for counting small numbers was activated when small numbers were presented. The correspondence between finger counting habits and hemispheric motor activation is consistent with an intrinsic functional link between finger counting and number processing. KW - Embodied cognition KW - Numerical cognaion KW - Finger counting habits KW - SNARC effect Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.11.037 SN - 1053-8119 VL - 59 IS - 4 SP - 3139 EP - 3148 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Reading space into numbers: an update T2 - Cognitive processing : international quarterly of cognitive science Y1 - 2014 SN - 1612-4782 SN - 1612-4790 VL - 15 IS - 1 SP - S21 EP - S21 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - INPR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Spatial biases in mental arithmetic T2 - The quarterly journal of experimental psychology Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2014.927516 SN - 1747-0218 SN - 1747-0226 VL - 67 IS - 8 SP - 1457 EP - 1460 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Spatial associations in numerical cognition-From single digits to arithmetic JF - The quarterly journal of experimental psychology N2 - The literature on spatial associations during number processing is dominated by the SNARC (spatial-numerical association of response codes) effect. We describe spatial biases found for single digits and pairs of numbers, first in the "original" speeded parity task and then extending the scope to encompass different tasks, a range of measures, and various populations. Then we review theoretical accounts before surveying the emerging evidence for similar spatial associations during mental arithmetic. We conclude that the mental number line hypothesis and an embodied approach are useful frameworks for further studies. KW - Embodied cognition KW - Mental arithmetic KW - Numerical cognition KW - Operational momentum KW - Spatial-numerical association of response codes KW - SNARC Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2014.927515 SN - 1747-0218 SN - 1747-0226 VL - 67 IS - 8 SP - 1461 EP - 1483 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pinhas, Michal A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Heed the signs: Operation signs have spatial associations JF - The quarterly journal of experimental psychology N2 - Mental arithmetic shows systematic spatial biases. The association between numbers and space is well documented, but it is unknown whether arithmetic operation signs also have spatial associations and whether or not they contribute to spatial biases found in arithmetic. Adult participants classified plus and minus signs with left and right button presses under two counterbalanced response rules. Results from two experiments showed that spatially congruent responses (i.e., right-side responses for the plus sign and left-side responses for the minus sign) were responded to faster than spatially incongruent ones (i.e., left-side responses for the plus sign and right-side responses for the minus sign). We also report correlations between this novel operation sign spatial association (OSSA) effect and other spatial biases in number processing. In a control experiment with no explicit processing requirements for the operation signs there were no sign-related spatial biases. Overall, the results suggest that (a) arithmetic operation signs can evoke spatial associations (OSSA), (b) experience with arithmetic operations probably underlies the OSSA, and (c) the OSSA only partially contributes to spatial biases in arithmetic. KW - Mental arithmetic KW - Mental number line KW - Operational momentum KW - Pointing KW - Spatial-numerical association of response codes effect Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2014.892516 SN - 1747-0218 SN - 1747-0226 VL - 67 IS - 8 SP - 1527 EP - 1540 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Adam, Jos J. A1 - Bovend'Eerdt, Thamar J. H. A1 - van Dooren, Fleur E. P. A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Pratt, Jay T1 - The closer the better hand proximity dynamically affects letter recognition accuracy JF - Attention, perception, & psychophysics : AP&P ; a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc. N2 - A growing literature has suggested that processing of visual information presented near the hands is facilitated. In this study, we investigated whether the near-hands superiority effect also occurs with the hands moving. In two experiments, participants performed a cyclical bimanual movement task requiring concurrent visual identification of briefly presented letters. For both the static and dynamic hand conditions, the results showed improved letter recognition performance with the hands closer to the stimuli. The finding that the encoding advantage for near-hand stimuli also occurred with the hands moving suggests that the effect is regulated in real time, in accordance with the concept of a bimodal neural system that dynamically updates hand position in external space. KW - Perception and action Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-012-0339-3 SN - 1943-3921 VL - 74 IS - 7 SP - 1533 EP - 1538 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Hartmann, Matthias T1 - Pushing forward in embodied cognition: may we mouse the mathematical mind? JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - Freely available software has popularized "mousetracking" to study cognitive processing; this involves the on-line recording of cursor positions while participants move a computer mouse to indicate their choice. Movement trajectories of the cursor can then be reconstructed off-line to assess the efficiency of responding in time and across space. Here we focus on the process of selecting among alternative numerical responses. Several studies have recently measured the mathematical mind with cursor movements while people decided about number magnitude or parity, computed sums or differences, or simply located numbers on a number line. After some general methodological considerations about mouse tracking we discuss several conceptual concerns that become particularly evident when "mousing" the mathematical mind. KW - mousetracking KW - numerical cognition KW - SNARC effect KW - trajectories KW - on-line processing Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01315 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 5 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - INPR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Removing spatial responses reveals spatial concepts even in a culture with mixed reading habits T2 - Frontiers in human neuroscienc KW - cross-cultural KW - random number generation KW - mental number line KW - embodied numerical cognition KW - automatic processing Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00966 SN - 1662-5161 VL - 8 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - INPR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Knops, Andre T1 - Attentional cueing in numerical cognition T2 - Frontiers in psychology KW - attention KW - number line KW - SNARC effect KW - visual perception KW - response selection Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01381 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 5 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - INPR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Two steps to space for numbers T2 - Frontiers in psychology KW - spatial-nunmerical association KW - SNARC KW - mental number line KW - numerical cognition KW - spatial cognition Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00612 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 6 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - INPR A1 - Lindemann, Oliver A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Embodied number processing T2 - Journal of cognitive psychology Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2015.1032295 SN - 2044-5911 SN - 2044-592X VL - 27 IS - 4 SP - 381 EP - 387 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Sery, Noa A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - 1 + 2 is more than 2 + 1: Violations of commutativity and identity axioms in mental arithmetic JF - Journal of cognitive psychology N2 - Over the past decade or so, a large number of studies have revealed that conceptual meaning is sensitive to situational context. More recently, similar contextual influences have been documented in the domain of number knowledge. Here we show such context dependency in a length production task. Adult participants saw single digit addition problems of the form n1 + n2 and produced the sum by changing bi-directionally the length of a horizontally extended line, using radially arranged buttons. We found that longer lines were produced when n1 < n2 compared to n1 > n2 and that unit size increased with result size. Thus, the mathematical axioms of commutativity and identity do not seem to hold in mental addition. We discuss implications of these observations for our understanding of cognitive mechanisms involved in mental arithmetic and for situated cognition generally. KW - Operand order effect KW - Situated cognition KW - Mental number line KW - SNARC KW - Operational momentum Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2014.973414 SN - 2044-5911 SN - 2044-592X VL - 27 IS - 4 SP - 471 EP - 477 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - A hierarchical view of grounded, embodied, and situated numerical cognition T2 - Cognitive processing : international quarterly of cognitive science Y1 - 2012 SN - 1612-4782 VL - 13 SP - S14 EP - S15 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - A hierarchical view of grounded, embodied, and situated numerical cognition JF - Cognitive processing : international quarterly of cognitive science N2 - There is much recent interest in the idea that we represent our knowledge together with the sensory and motor features that were activated during its acquisition. This paper reviews the evidence for such "embodiment" in the domain of numerical cognition, a traditional stronghold of abstract theories of knowledge representation. The focus is on spatial-numerical associations, such as the SNARC effect (small numbers are associated with left space, larger numbers with right space). Using empirical evidence from behavioral research, I first describe sensory and motor biases induced by SNARC, thus identifying numbers as embodied concepts. Next, I propose a hierarchical relationship between grounded, embodied, and situated aspects of number knowledge. This hierarchical conceptualization helps to understand the variety of SNARC-related findings and yields testable predictions about numerical cognition. I report several such tests, ranging from cross-cultural comparisons of horizontal and vertical SNARC effects (Shaki and Fischer in J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 38(3): 804-809, 2012) to motor cortical activation studies in adults with left- and right-hand counting preferences (Tschentscher et al. in NeuroImage 59: 3139-3148, 2012). It is concluded that the diagnostic features for each level of the proposed hierarchical knowledge representation, together with the spatial associations of numbers, make the domain of numerical knowledge an ideal testing ground for embodied cognition research. KW - Embodied cognition KW - Grounded cognition KW - Numerical cognition KW - SNARC effect Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-012-0477-5 SN - 1612-4782 VL - 13 SP - S161 EP - S164 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Myachykov, Andriy A1 - Scheepers, Christoph A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Kessler, Klaus T1 - TEST: A tropic, embodied, and situated theory of cognition JF - Topics in cognitive science N2 - TEST is a novel taxonomy of knowledge representations based on three distinct hierarchically organized representational features: Tropism, Embodiment, and Situatedness. Tropic representational features reflect constraints of the physical world on the agent's ability to form, reactivate, and enrich embodied (i.e., resulting from the agent's bodily constraints) conceptual representations embedded in situated contexts. The proposed hierarchy entails that representations can, in principle, have tropic features without necessarily having situated and/or embodied features. On the other hand, representations that are situated and/or embodied are likely to be simultaneously tropic. Hence, although we propose tropism as the most general term, the hierarchical relationship between embodiment and situatedness is more on a par, such that the dominance of one component over the other relies on the distinction between offline storage versus online generation as well as on representation-specific properties. KW - Cognitive tropism KW - Embodiment KW - Groundedness KW - Situatedness KW - Language KW - Number processing KW - Perspective taking Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/tops.12024 SN - 1756-8757 SN - 1756-8765 VL - 6 IS - 3 SP - 442 EP - 460 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Apel, Jens K. A1 - Cangelosi, Angelo A1 - Ellis, Rob A1 - Goslin, Jeremy A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Object affordance influences instruction span JF - Experimental brain research N2 - We measured memory span for assembly instructions involving objects with handles oriented to the left or right side. Right-handed participants remembered more instructions when objects' handles were spatially congruent with the hand used in forthcoming assembly actions. No such affordance-based memory benefit was found for left-handed participants. These results are discussed in terms of motor simulation as an embodied rehearsal mechanism. KW - Action simulation KW - Affordance KW - Embodied cognition KW - Rehearsal KW - Sequential instruction KW - Working memory Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-012-3251-0 SN - 0014-4819 VL - 223 IS - 2 SP - 199 EP - 206 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - INPR A1 - Hartmann, Matthias A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Pupillometry: The eyes shed fresh light on the mind T2 - Current biology Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.02.028 SN - 0960-9822 SN - 1879-0445 VL - 24 IS - 7 SP - R281 EP - R282 PB - Cell Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Myachykov, Andriy A1 - Cangelosi, Angelo A1 - Ellis, Rob A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - The oculomotor resonance effect in spatial-numerical mapping JF - Acta psychologica : international journal of psychonomics N2 - We investigated automatic Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect in auditory number processing. Two experiments continually measured spatial characteristics of ocular drift at central fixation during and after auditory number presentation. Consistent with the notion of a spatially oriented mental number line, we found spontaneous magnitude-dependent gaze adjustments, both with and without a concurrent saccadic task. This fixation adjustment (1) had a small-number/left-lateralized bias and (2) it was biphasic as it emerged for a short time around the point of lexical access and it received later robust representation around following number onset. This pattern suggests a two-step mechanism of sensorimotor mapping between numbers and space a first-pass bottom-up activation followed by a top-down and more robust horizontal SNARC Our results inform theories of number processing as well as simulation-based approaches to cognition by identifying the characteristics of an oculomotor resonance phenomenon. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - Attention KW - Embodied cognition KW - Eye movements KW - Oculomotor resonance KW - Ocular drift KW - SNARC Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2015.09.006 SN - 0001-6918 SN - 1873-6297 VL - 161 SP - 162 EP - 169 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Winter, Bodo A1 - Matlock, Teenie A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Mental number space in three dimensions JF - Neuroscience & biobehavioral reviews : official journal of the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society N2 - A large number of experimental findings from neuroscience and experimental psychology demonstrated interactions between spatial cognition and numerical cognition. In particular, many researchers posited a horizontal mental number line, where small numbers are thought of as being to the left of larger numbers. This review synthesizes work on the mental association between space and number, indicating the existence of multiple spatial mappings: recent research has found associations between number and vertical space, as well as associations between number and near/far space. We discuss number space in three dimensions with an eye on potential origins of the different number mappings, and how these number mappings fit in with our current knowledge of brain organization and brain-culture interactions. We derive novel predictions and show how this research fits into a general view of cognition as embodied, grounded and situated. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Embodiment KW - Intra-parietal sulcus KW - Mental number line KW - Metaphor KW - Neglect KW - Spatial cognition KW - SNARC Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.09.005 SN - 0149-7634 SN - 1873-7528 VL - 57 SP - 209 EP - 219 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Brugger, Peter T1 - When digits help digits spatial-numerical associations point to finger counting as prime example of embodied cognition JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - Spatial numerical associations (SNAs) are prevalent yet their origin is poorly understood. We first consider the possible prime role of reading habits in shaping SNAs and list three observations that argue against a prominent influence of this role: (1) directional reading habits for numbers may conflict with those for non-numerical symbols, (2) short-term experimental manipulations can overrule the impact of decades of reading experience, (3) SNAs predate the acquisition of reading. As a promising alternative, we discuss behavioral, neuroscientific, and neuropsychological evidence in support of finger counting as the most likely initial determinant of SNAs. Implications of this "manumerical cognition" stance for the distinction between grounded, embodied, and situated cognition are discussed. KW - embodied cognition KW - finger counting KW - numerical cognition Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00260 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 2 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - INPR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Newborn chicks need no number tricks. Commentary: Number-space mapping in the newborn chick resembles humans' mental number line T2 - Frontiers in human neuroscienc KW - mental number line KW - innate number sense KW - numerical cognition KW - spatial cognition KW - spatial numerical associations Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00451 SN - 1662-5161 VL - 9 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Goebel, Silke M. T1 - Direction counts A comparative study of spatially directional counting biases in cultures with different reading directions JF - Journal of experimental child psychology N2 - Western adults associate small numbers with left space and large numbers with right space. Where does this pervasive spatial-numerical association come from? In this study, we first recorded directional counting preferences in adults with different reading experiences (left to right, right to left, mixed, and illiterate) and observed a clear relationship between reading and counting directions. We then recorded directional counting preferences in pre-schoolers and elementary school children from three of these reading cultures (left to right, right to left, and mixed). Culture-specific counting biases existed before reading acquisition in children as young as 3 years and were subsequently modified by early reading experience. Together, our results suggest that both directional counting and scanning activities contribute to number-space associations. KW - Counting KW - Numerical cognition KW - Reading direction KW - Number-space association KW - Mental Number KW - Cross-cultural Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2011.12.005 SN - 0022-0965 VL - 112 IS - 2 SP - 275 EP - 281 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Multiple spatial mappings in numerical cognition JF - Journal of experimental psychology : Human perception and performance N2 - A recent cross-cultural comparison (Shaki, Fischer, & Petrusic, 2009) suggested that spatially consistent processing habits for words and numbers are a necessary condition for the spatial representation of numbers (Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes; SNARC effect). Here we reexamine the SNARC in Israelis who read text from right to left but numbers from left to right. We show that, despite these spatially inconsistent processing habits, a SNARC effect still emerges when the response dimension is spatially orthogonal to the conflicting processing dimension. These results clarify the cognitive conditions for spatial-numerical mappings. KW - mental number line KW - reading habits KW - SNARC Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027562 SN - 0096-1523 VL - 38 IS - 3 SP - 804 EP - 809 PB - American Psychological Association CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Random walks on the mental number line JF - Experimental brain research KW - Mental number line KW - RNG KW - SNARC KW - Spatial bias KW - Walking Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-013-3718-7 SN - 0014-4819 SN - 1432-1106 VL - 232 IS - 1 SP - 43 EP - 49 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - GEN A1 - Wiemers, Michael A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Effects of hand proximity and movement direction in spatial and temporal gap discrimination T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Previous research on the interplay between static manual postures and visual attention revealed enhanced visual selection near the hands (near-hand effect). During active movements there is also superior visual performance when moving toward compared to away from the stimulus (direction effect). The "modulated visual pathways" hypothesis argues that differential involvement of magno- and parvocellular visual processing streams causes the near-hand effect. The key finding supporting this hypothesis is an increase in temporal and a reduction in spatial processing in near-hand space (Gozli et al., 2012). Since this hypothesis has, so far, only been tested with static hand postures, we provide a conceptual replication of Gozli et al.'s (2012) result with moving hands, thus also probing the generality of the direction effect. Participants performed temporal or spatial gap discriminations while their right hand was moving below the display. In contrast to Gozli et al (2012), temporal gap discrimination was superior at intermediate and not near hand proximity. In spatial gap discrimination, a direction effect without hand proximity effect suggests that pragmatic attentional maps overshadowed temporal/spatial processing biases for far/near-hand space. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 428 KW - attention KW - perception and action KW - two visual systems KW - visual perception KW - movement preparation Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-406568 IS - 428 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lachmair, Martin A1 - Fernandez, Susana Ruiz A1 - Bury, Nils-Alexander A1 - Gerjets, Peter A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Bock, Otmar L. T1 - How Body Orientation Affects Concepts of Space, Time and Valence: Functional Relevance of Integrating Sensorimotor Experiences during Word Processing JF - PLoS one Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0165795 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 11 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hartmann, Matthias A1 - Mast, Fred W. A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Spatial biases during mental arithmetic: evidence from eye movements on a blank screen JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - While the influence of spatial-numerical associations in number categorization tasks has been well established, their role in mental arithmetic is less clear. It has been hypothesized that mental addition leads to rightward and upward shifts of spatial attention (along the "mental number line"), whereas subtraction leads to leftward and downward shifts. We addressed this hypothesis by analyzing spontaneous eye movements during mental arithmetic. Participants solved verbally presented arithmetic problems (e.g., 2 + 7, 8-3) aloud while looking at a blank screen. We found that eye movements reflected spatial biases in the ongoing mental operation: Gaze position shifted more upward when participants solved addition compared to subtraction problems, and the horizontal gaze position was partly determined by the magnitude of the operands. Interestingly, the difference between addition and subtraction trials was driven by the operator (plus vs. minus) but was not influenced by the computational process. Thus, our results do not support the idea of a mental movement toward the solution during arithmetic but indicate a semantic association between operation and space. KW - mental arithmetic KW - eye movements KW - mental number line KW - operational momentum KW - embodied cognition KW - grounded cognition Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00012 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 6 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Implicit Spatial-Numerical Associations: Negative Numbers and the Role of Counting Direction JF - Journal of experimental psychology : Human perception and performance N2 - It has been debated whether negative number concepts are cognitively represented on the same mental number line as positive number concepts. The present study reviews this debate and identifies limitations of previous studies. A method with nonspatial stimuli and responses is applied to overcome these limitations and to document a systematic implicit association of negative numbers with left space, thus indicating a leftward extension of the mental number line. Importantly, this result only held for left-to-right counting adults. Implications for the experiential basis of abstract conceptual knowledge are discussed. KW - negative numbers KW - counting direction KW - embodied cognition KW - IAT KW - SNARC effect Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000369 SN - 0096-1523 SN - 1939-1277 VL - 43 SP - 639 EP - 643 PB - American Psychological Association CY - Washington ER -