Living in an Asymmetrical World

There has recently been a renewed interest in the role of spatial dimensions in social cognition, and how vertical and horizontal trajectories are used to represent social concepts such as power, agency, aggression, and dominance. Most of this work surrounds the idea that abstract concepts are intrinsically linked to our sensory and motor experiences, including habitual interactions with the environment such as reading and writing. Living in an Asymmetrical World makes an original contribution to the field by addressing a "hot" topic from a somewhat unusual perspective, bridging five decades of research on horizontal bias related to writing direction. Previous work by Jean-Pierre Deconchy is examined and integrated with current theory, and the importance of deep thinking, on field observations, multiple methodologies and creative procedures are proposed as crucial elements for future social psychology. The book's revival of this approach to science will open up new perspectives for future research and will be of key interest to academics and researchers in the areas of social, cognitive and cultural psychology.

Anne Maass is Professor of Psychology at the University of Padua, Italy. Caterina Suitner is Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Padua, Italy. Jean-Pierre Deconchy is Emeritus Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Paris X Nanterre, France.

Introduction: Spatial Bias Under a Cross-Cultural Perspective  1. The Problems, its Genesis  2. The Orientation of the Field of Vision in Mother-Tongue Arabic Children  3. Right-Left Orientation and Reading French  4. Recent Developments: Theoretical Approaches and Extensions to the Social Domain  5. Research Practices Evolving Over Time