The relationship between space and time perception: A registered replication of Casasanto and Boroditsky (2008)

Abstract

Everything in our environment moves through both space and time, and to effectively act we must be aware of both spatial and temporal elements in relation to our own body. Thus, perception of space and time have an intimate relationship. Walsh’s a theory of magnitude (ATOM) suggests that space and time perception rely on a general magnitude system and their relationship should be roughly symmetrical. Alternatively, metaphor theory, which is based on the philosophical work of Lakoff and Johnson, argues that we represent time using spatial metaphor and thus the relationship should be asymmetrical (with space influencing time more than time influences space). A compelling line of evidence for metaphor theory comes from the work of Casasanto and Boroditsky who experimentally demonstrated this asymmetric effect. However, in our previous unpublished online replication attempt of this work, we found a roughly symmetrical relationship between space and time, more in line with the theoretical predictions of ATOM. Given this, we performed a registered replication of Casasanto and Boroditsky (2008) in both an online and laboratory environment.