Testing the body specificity hypothesis on a touchscreen device: a space-valence compatibility response time paradigm

Experimental studies based on the body specificity hypothesis revealed associations between affective valence and hand dominance (i.e., dominant hand—positive; non-dominant hand—negative), or lateral movements of the hands (i.e., dominant hand toward the ipsilateral space—positive; dominant hand toward the controlateral space—negative). Interestingly , these associations have never been investigated in a response time paradigm with a swipe gesture. In two experiments we presented on a touchscreen device 16 images (previously valenced in a manipulation check experiment) to 24 right-handers (Exp. 1) and 24 lefthanders participants (Exp.2), asking them to make valence judgments in both a congruent (swipe toward dominant space to positive images, vice versa for negative images) and incongruent (the opposite) task. Results highlighted that both right-handers and left handers were faster (p<0.001) in the congruent condition in respect to the incongruent condition; this effect was only present in evaluations made with the dominant hand, supporting the idea that space-valence associations (i.e., faster response time to positive or negative images) depend on the congruency between spatial position/direction of swipe and hand dominance.