In this wedding of traditional psychological methods and cognitive semantic theorizing, we investigate how humans apply spatial principles to their conceptions of time. To this end, we conduct priming studies aimed at teasing apart the different conceptual mappings that are at play when we make statements such as "Move the meeting forward."
Núñez, R. (1999). Could the future taste purple? Journal of Consciousness Studies, 6, 41-60.
Motz, B. & Núñez, R. (2004). Baseline explorations in the spatial construal of time. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the International Cognitive Science Society, Chicago, IL. (abstract - pdf)
Ursina is conducting experiments to test the effects of a limited
future time perspective (i.e., an ending perceived as near) on
aspects of decision making, such as evaluation of alternatives
and goal preference.
First results suggest that a salient ending increases emotional
poignancy, which has important implications on theories of aging.
A long-term objective of this research is to bring the aspect of a
limited future perspective - and thus the aspect of aging - into the
theoretical framework of decision making in general. Upcoming
experiments will investigate variables like risk seeking vs. risk
avoidance, uncertainty, and openness towards unknown options in
situations where the future time perspective is either limited or
open-ended.
To find out more about the way we think about time, Ursina is
investigating the synesthetic experience some people report of temporal
sequences being consistently linked to specific forms, lines, or
landscapes. So far, these reports are anecdotal and have not been
experientially tested. Experiments on these cognitive or perceptual maps
may help to elucidate the connection between synesthesia and other
cross-modal associations, like metaphorical thinking. Furthermore,
studies on these specific synesthetic experiences may help us understand
whether there is a neurological basis of our tendency to structure
temporal reasoning in terms of space.
