Lateral biases and reading direction: A dissociation between aesthetic preference and line bisection

Perceptual bias in simple visuospatial tasks, such as line bisection seen among healthy dextrals, has often been attributed to the hemispheric activation hypothesis. The often reported leftward perceptual bias was explained by an activation of the right hemisphere during visuospatial tasks. However, imposed scanning direction and stimuli saliency have also been used to explain these spatial asymmetries. One example of scanning direction is the well-trained one resulting from reading direction. Here, we present studies that target the role of reading direction on nonverbal tasks: line bisection, esthetic preference, and straight-ahead pointing by comparing left-to-right and right-to-left readers. The findings are discussed regarding the interaction between cultural factors, such as reading habits, and biological factors, such as cerebral lateralization.

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Is the Future the Right Time?

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000036 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 57 (4) ◽

pp. 308-314 ◽

Cited By ~ 96

Author(s):

Marc Ouellet ◽

Julio Santiago ◽

Ziv Israeli ◽

Shai Gabay

Keyword(s):

Auditory Task ◽

English Speakers ◽

Visual Modality ◽

Opposite Pattern ◽

Time Line ◽

Temporal Reference ◽

Left Hand ◽

Reading Direction ◽

Mental Time Line ◽

The Right

Spanish and English speakers tend to conceptualize time as running from left to right along a mental line. Previous research suggests that this representational strategy arises from the participants’ exposure to a left-to-right writing system. However, direct evidence supporting this assertion suffers from several limitations and relies only on the visual modality. This study subjected to a direct test the reading hypothesis using an auditory task. Participants from two groups (Spanish and Hebrew) differing in the directionality of their orthographic system had to discriminate temporal reference (past or future) of verbs and adverbs (referring to either past or future) auditorily presented to either the left or right ear by pressing a left or a right key. Spanish participants were faster responding to past words with the left hand and to future words with the right hand, whereas Hebrew participants showed the opposite pattern. Our results demonstrate that the left-right mapping of time is not restricted to the visual modality and that the direction of reading accounts for the preferred directionality of the mental time line. These results are discussed in the context of a possible mechanism underlying the effects of reading direction on highly abstract conceptual representations.

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Implied reading direction and prioritization of letter encoding.

Journal of Experimental Psychology General ◽

10.1037/xge0000357 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 146 (10) ◽

pp. 1420-1437 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Alex O. Holcombe ◽

Elizabeth H. L. Nguyen ◽

Patrick T. Goodbourn

Keyword(s):

Reading Direction

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The line bisection task in the acute stage of hemianopia and neglect

Aktuelle Neurologie ◽

10.1055/s-0029-1238424 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 36 (S 02) ◽

Author(s):

B Machner ◽

A Sprenger ◽

U Hansen ◽

W Heide ◽

C Helmchen

Keyword(s):

Acute Stage ◽

Line Bisection ◽

Bisection Task ◽

Line Bisection Task

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A Process of Glocalisation? Roman Marble Imports and the Rise of Blocked-Out Capitals in Local Stone

10.31338/0082-044x.swiatowit.58.2 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 33-45

Author(s):

Matthias Grawehr

Keyword(s):

Roman Empire ◽

Eastern Mediterranean ◽

High Quality ◽

White Marble ◽

Aesthetic Preference ◽

Local Responses ◽

Global Trend ◽

Short Period ◽

New Type ◽

Local Materials

In the Augustan Age, a new aesthetic preference was propagated in the Roman Empire – the surface of white marble was valued as it symbolised the strength and superiority of the ‘new age’. Soon, an immense trade in high quality marble over land and sea developed to meet the emergent demand. While the development and scale of this trade is well studied, the repercussions that the new aesthetic preference had on the local architectural traditions in areas where no marble was close at hand is not commonly considered. In this contribution, two developments are traced, taking the Corinthian capital as the leitmotif. First, in the short period between c. 40 and 10 BC, patrons would choose imitation of marble in plaster to meet up with the demands of the new standard and to demonstrate their adherence to the Empire. In the second line of development, a different path was taken – a conscious use of local materials which went hand in hand with the development of a new type of capital, the so-called ‘Nabataean blocked-out’ capital. This combination turned into a new vernacular tradition across large parts of the eastern Mediterranean. Both developments were local responses to a new ‘global’ trend and can therefore be viewed as a phenomenon of glocalisation in the Roman Period.

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Personality and aesthetic preference in Spain and England: two studies relating sensation seeking and openness to experience to liking for paintings and music

European Journal of Personality ◽

10.1002/1099-0984(200011/12)14:6<553::aid-per384>3.3.co;2-8 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 14 (6) ◽

pp. 553-576 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David Rawlings ◽

Neus Barrantes i Vidal ◽

Adrian Furnham

Keyword(s):

Sensation Seeking ◽

Openness To Experience ◽

Aesthetic Preference

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No Evidence of Perceptual Pseudoneglect in Alexithymia

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11030376 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 376

Author(s):

Carmelo Mario Vicario ◽

Gabriella Martino ◽

Alex Marcuzzo ◽

Giuseppe Craparo

Keyword(s):

Right Hemisphere ◽

Line Bisection ◽

Mental Condition ◽

Bisection Task ◽

Rightward Shift ◽

Behavioral Evidence ◽

And Performance ◽

The Right ◽

Line Bisection Task ◽

Tas 20

Neuroscience research links alexithymia, the difficulty in identifying and describing feelings and emotions, with left hemisphere dominance and/or right hemisphere deficit. To provide behavioral evidence for this neuroscientific hypothesis, we explored the relationship between alexithymia and performance in a line bisection task, a standard method for evaluating visuospatial processing in relation to right hemisphere functioning. We enrolled 222 healthy participants who completed a version of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), which measures alexithymia, and were asked to mark (bisect) the center of a 10-cm horizontal segment. The results document a significant rightward shift in the center of the line in participants with borderline and manifest alexithymia compared with non-alexithymic individuals. The higher the TAS-20 score, the greater the rightward shift in the line bisection task. This finding supports the right hemisphere deficit hypothesis in alexithymia and suggests that visuospatial abnormalities may be an important component of this mental condition.

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