Spatial Reasoning in Native Speakers of Russian and German

Spatial Reasoning in Native Speakers of Russian and German Maria Mikheeva (maria.micheewa@mail.ru) Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Department of Psychology, Kremlyovskaya-Str. 18, 420008 Kazan, Russian Federation Leandra Bucher (leandra.bucher@psychol.uni-giessen.de) Justus Liebig University, Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Science, Otto-Behaghel-Str. 10F, 35394 Giessen, Germany Jelica Nejasmic (jelica.nejasmic@psychol.uni-giessen.de) Justus Liebig University, Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Science, Otto-Behaghel-Str. 10F, 35394 Giessen, Germany Markus Knauff (markus.knauff@psychol.uni-giessen.de) Justus Liebig University, Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Science, Otto-Behaghel-Str. 10F, 35394 Giessen, Germany Abstract The relationship between reasoning and language has been frequently studied. Here we explore principles of spatial reasoning in Germans and Russians. We compared the performance of Russians in three different settings to the performance of Germans. The task was to construct layouts of wooden blocks according to verbal instructions, describing the relations of these blocks. Subsequently pieces of new information, introduced as incontrovertible facts and partly contradicting the initial descriptions, were given. Participants re-arranged the blocks to take into account the new facts. Recent research conducted with Germans has shown that – although alternatives are logical equivalent - there are preferences for certain solutions. The question was whether Russians show the same or different preferences. Our results suggest that construction and revision of spatial models follow similar principles. However, we observed differences between the groups regarding the flexibility to apply a principle based on the order of words in a sentence. Keywords: Spatial reasoning; Relational reasoning, Cross- cultural similarities; Language; Russia; Belief revision Introduction Misunderstandings happen so often between people from different countries, triggering the important question: how is language connected to our mental representation of the world? What role does it play in reasoning? Answers suggested to that question are provided by an important theory in that area: the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis affirms that language influences thought (Zvegintsev, 1960; Levinson, Kita, Haun, & Rasch, 2002; Levinson & Meira, 2003). On the other hand, there is the view that the mind is organized in a modular way with separate modules dedicated to certain abilities (e.g. Tsimmerling, 2000; Nowak, Komarova, & Niyogi, 2001; Kulikov, 2012). A further important question, to some extent related to language, is: how do mental representations differ across different cultures? What role do cultural backgrounds play in reasoning? While some studies suggest cultural dissimilarities (e.g. Oyserman & Lee, 2008), other studies show that there are common cognitive principles used by reasoners of different cultures. Cross- cultural similarities have, for instance, been shown in topological reasoning (Knauff & Ragni, 2011; Knauff, The present study is concerned with spatial relational reasoning and the influence of language and culture. We briefly analyze relevant work on linguistic influence on thinking, comparative topology of German and Russian, and spatial relational reasoning. We then present an experiment, designed to investigate the construction and revision of spatial models. Construction and Revision of Spatial Mental Models Imagine you need to find the house № 28 in a street, unfamiliar to you. You have received the following description of the precise location by friend A, informing you that: “There is a hotel to the right of a cafe.”, and “The house № 28 is to the left of the cafe.” The description allows for one (determinate) model to construct. In order to construct the model, spatial information is inserted successively. Based on the information given by statement (1), the model “Cafe – Hotel” is initiated and extended by (2) “House № 28”, resulting into the model: House № 28 – Cafe – Hotel A lot of studies have explored factors that influence reasoners when they construct models, among them the order of objects as inserted into the model, and other order effects (e.g. Payne, 1993; Ehrlich & Johnson-Laird, 1982; Payne & Baguley, 2006; Bucher, Krumnack, Nejasmic, & Knauff, 2011; Krumnack, Bucher, Nejasmic, & Knauff, 2011; Nejasmic, Krumnack, Bucher, & Knauff, 2011) .