Warm in the Left and Cold in the Right: Influence of Sensorimotor Experiences on Spatial Temperature Mappings

Humans often rely on spatial metaphors to structure abstract concepts. The present study examined whether temperature concepts, such as “warm” and “cold,” are also spatially represented. Across five experiments, participants responded to warm- and cold-related words using lateral (left–right) or vertical (top–bottom) response keys. Experiments 1a–1c consistently revealed a left–warm and right–cold association, contradicting predictions derived from generalized magnitude accounts and the polarity correspondence model, which both predict a warm-right/cold-left alignment. This pattern, however, aligns with culturally entrenched action–perception routines such as faucet operation, suggesting that horizontal temperature mappings may be shaped by learned sensorimotor experience. Experiment 2 used an indirect word-type judgment task and found no spatial–thermal congruency, indicating that such mappings are not automatically activated and depend on the conceptual relevance of temperature. Experiment 3 examined the vertical axis and showed a warm–top and cold–bottom mapping, consistent with linguistic convention and embodied experience (e.g., reading thermometers). Together, the findings suggest that spatial representations of temperature are shaped by culturally grounded sensorimotor routines and task context, supporting a conceptual-metaphor account over magnitude-based or structural-polarity accounts.