Individual differences in spatial cognition influence mental simulation of language - Fig 1. Design of the virtual corridor categorisation task

Design of the Virtual Corridor categorisation task. (A) Participants would walk through a series of corridors, turning either left of right at various angles. Depicted are representative frames from a left-turning corridor animation. (B) After each traversal, participants would be presented with 2 arrows, and had to choose the one they thought pointed to the starting location of the corridor. (C) Illustration of the four corridors, turning either left or right at varying angles. The eccentricity of the turn, relative to the heading defined by the initial segment, is displayed on the circle perimeter (−90°, −45°, 45°, 90°). Egocentric (E) and allocentric (A) subjects start out the same in all corridors, and each corridor can be interpreted through both egocentric and allocentric frames. However, depending on one’s bias, differences emerge with the corridor turn, and the two groups finish with different cognitive headings at the end. As an example, the dashed line indicates where an egocentric participant would judge the starting location of the red corridor to be: on the left-hand side (they would give the same answer for the blue corridor). Conversely, an allocentric participant moving through the blue corridor would locate the starting position on their right-hand side (just like they would for the red corridor). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)