时空隐喻研究的新问题:时间表征的左右方向性

传统的时空隐喻研究主要通过启动范式来研究空间中的前后轴线和上下轴线与时间表征的关系;而近年来,研究者们通过综合运用排序法、判断法、比较法和线索范式,证明了个体会用左右轴线来表征时间.由于传统的理论无法很好地解释时间表征的左右方向性,研究者们倾向于用具身理论(embodiment theory)来解释这一现象.为了深化对空间轴线和时间表征之间的关系的认识,需要统一研究方法、整合不同理论并在神经机制层面上开展新的研究.

A New Issue in the Study of the Spatial Metaphor of Time:The Left-and-Right Representation of Time

Traditionally, studies of the spatial metaphor of time were focused on the psychological reality of the sagittal (front/back) and vertical (up/down) representation of time by using the priming paradigm; in recent years, however, researchers have used the sequence method, the judgment method, the comparison method and the cueing paradigm to examine and confirm the use of the transverse (left/right) axis to represent time in the mind. Since the conventional theory failed to explain the left-and-right representation of time, researchers have tended to adopt the embodiment theory, which argues that the reading and writing habit is the reason for such representation. A deeper understanding of the relationship between the spatial axes and temporal representation relies on a unified research paradigm, an integrated theoretical framework and a new line of research into the neurological basis of the spatial metaphor of time.