EXPRESS: The role of spatial words in the spatialization of time.

Language about time is an integral part of how we spatialize time. Factors like temporal focus can be related to time spatialization as well. The current study investigates the role of language in how we spatialize time, using a temporal diagram task modified to include the lateral axis. We asked participants to place temporal events provided in non-metaphorical, sagittal metaphorical, and non-sagittal metaphorical scenarios on a temporal diagram. We found that sagittal metaphors elicited sagittal spatializations of time, whereas the other two types elicited lateral spatializations. Participants sometimes used the sagittal and the lateral axes in combination to spatialize time. Exploratory analyses indicated that individuals' time management habits, temporal distance, and event order in written scenarios were related to time spatializations. Their temporal focus scores, however, were not. Findings suggest that temporal language plays an important role in how we map space onto time.