A kinematic approach to the conceptual representations of this and that.
The Italian demonstrative pronouns questo/a ('this([mas/fem])') and quello/a ('that([mas/fem])') implicitly convey information about objects' distance with respect to the speaker. Our study investigated the referents of questo/a ('this([mas/fem])') and quello/a ('that([mas/fem])') by analysing their influence on reach-to-grasp actions towards objects located near to (12cm) or far from (30cm) the participant. Upon acoustic instruction containing one or the other pronoun, participants had to reach for and grasp a target object. Results showed an effect of pronoun on movement planning. When the object was in the far position, reaction times were faster for the congruent pronoun quello/a, whereas when it was in the near position they were faster for the congruent pronoun questo/a. Interactions between implied and real target distance suggest that the conceptual spaces of questo/a and quello/a do not map onto a strict distinction between peripersonal and extrapersonal space.
Bonfiglioli
Claudia
C
Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Rovereto (TN), Italy. claudia.bonfiglioli@unitn.it
Finocchiaro
Chiara
C
Gesierich
Benno
B
Rositani
Francesco
F
Vescovi
Massimo
M
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005260:Female; D018737:Hand Strength; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011578:Psycholinguistics; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult