Show simple item record

AuthorGuida, A.
AuthorMegreya, A.M.
AuthorLavielle-Guida, M.
AuthorNoel, Y.
AuthorMathy, F.
Authorvan, Dijck J.-P.
AuthorAbrahamse, E.
Available date2019-09-30T07:48:38Z
Publication Date2018
Publication NameCognition
ResourceScopus
ISSN0010-0277
URIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2018.02.013
URIhttp://hdl.handle.net/10576/11985
AbstractThe ability to maintain arbitrary sequences of items in the mind contributes to major cognitive faculties, such as language, reasoning, and episodic memory. Previous research suggests that serial order working memory is grounded in the brain’s spatial attention system. In the present study, we show that the spatially defined mental organization of novel item sequences is related to literacy and varies as a function of reading/writing direction. Specifically, three groups (left-to-right Western readers, right-to-left Arabic readers, and Arabic-speaking illiterates) were asked to memorize random (and non-spatial) sequences of color patches and determine whether a subsequent probe was part of the memorized sequence (e.g., press left key) or not (e.g., press right key). The results showed that Western readers mentally organized the sequences from left to right, Arabic readers spontaneously used the opposite direction, and Arabic-speaking illiterates showed no systematic spatial organization. This finding suggests that cultural conventions shape one of the most “fluid” aspects of human cognition, namely, the spontaneous mental organization of novel non-spatial information.
SponsorElger Abrahamse was supported by Research Foundation - Flanders (contract number: 12C4715N ).
Languageen
PublisherElsevier B.V.
SubjectOrdinal position effect
Serial order
Short-term memory
SNARC
SPoARC
TitleSpatialization in working memory is related to literacy and reading direction: Culture “literarily” directs our thoughts
TypeArticle
Pagination96-100
Volume Number175
dc.accessType Abstract Only


Files in this item

FilesSizeFormatView

There are no files associated with this item.

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record