Sensorimotor mapping of temporal semantics

One of the pivotal questions in cognitive science concerns the nature of conceptual knowledge. Traditional theories explain it partially or even entirely independently from the body and external environment. In contrast, embodied theories of cognition argue that conceptual knowledge develops through dynamic interactions of an organism with the physical world, highlighting the role of modal systems in concept acquisition, storage, and retrieval. The embodied view on cognition is supported by the grounding of temporal concepts in spatial modality: Words related to the past are associated with the left, while words related to the future with the right space – a phenomenon called horizontal spatial-temporal mapping in this thesis. While research demonstrates the widespread existence of this mapping, questions remain regarding its automaticity and regularity across different concepts and linguistic experiences. This thesis presents three novel studies that aim to address these questions. First, analyses revealed spatial biases in uncontrolled response parameters such as mouse trajectories and initial line intersections, which may reflect early stages of conceptual processing and suggest the automaticity of spatial-temporal mapping. Second, the regularity of horizontal spatial-temporal mapping was demonstrated across languages with similar left-to-right reading habits (Russian, German, and English) and different temporal concepts (hours, days, and months) within a single language (Russian). Overall, this research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the role of attention in processing temporal concepts, providing further support for embodied theories of cognition.