This is a hybrid event.

Space for Thinking
Ariel Starr, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Washington

People from cultures around the world tend to borrow from the domain of space to represent abstract concepts. For example, in the domain of time, we use spatial metaphors (e.g., describing the future as being in front and the past behind), accompany our speech with spatial gestures (e.g., gesturing to the left to refer to a past event), and use external tools that project time onto a spatial reference frame (e.g., calendars). Importantly, these associations are also present in the way we think and reason about time, suggesting that space and time are also linked in the mind. In this talk, I will explore the developmental origins and functional implications of these types of cross-dimensional associations. To start, I will discuss the roles that language and culture play in shaping how children from diverse cultures represent time. Next, I will use memory as test cases for exploring why cross-dimensional associations may be cognitively advantageous. Finally, I will discuss the practical implications for this line of work, with a focus on how encouraging spatial representations of abstract concepts could improve learning outcomes.

Committee chair: Scott Murray, somurray@uw.edu
This free lecture is part of the promotion review for Dr. Starr in the Department of Psychology.