Abstract
The nature of the relationship between the concepts of space and time in the human mind is much debated. Some claim that space is primary and that it structures time (cf. Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) while others (cf. Walsh, 2003) maintain no difference in status between them. Using fully immersive virtual reality (VR), we examined the influence of object distance and time of appearance on choice of demonstratives (this and that) to refer to objects. Critically, demonstratives can be used spatially (this/that red triangle) and temporally (this/that month). Experiment 1 showed a pattern of demonstrative usage in VR that is consistent with results found in real‐world studies. Experiments 2, 3, and 4 manipulated both when and where objects appeared, providing scenarios where participants were free to use demonstratives in either a temporal or spatial sense. Although we find evidence for time of presentation affecting object mention, the experiments found that demonstrative choice was affected only by distance. These results support the view that spatial uses of demonstratives are privileged over temporal uses.
Highlights
In Newton’s laws of motion, distance and time are closely related constructs
Results from Coventry, Griffiths, and Hamilton (2014) and Coventry et al (2008) testing the demonstratives this and that show that there is a strong mapping between spatial perception and the choice of demonstrative, both in the distinction of peripersonal and extrapersonal space, as well as changes with tool use
Their studies show that the use of this to refer to objects is dominant in peripersonal space and drops off in a graded manner in extrapersonal space, consistent with results of perceptual experiments mentioned above
Summary
In Newton’s laws of motion, distance and time are closely related constructs. In human cognition too, it has been argued that distance and time are deeply coupled, but exactly how they are connected is the subject of much debate. Example, the demonstratives this and that can refer to objects in space (this red triangle, that green square) and to objects and events at different points in time (this month, that week; Diessel, 1999: this is in current temporal focus). Prepositions such as in and on can be used temporally (I’ll see you in an hour) as well as spatially (The coffee is in the cup). This introduced a secondary goal—to establish if using (spatial) language in virtual space mirrors language use in real space
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