The vertical nature of dominance-submission: Individual differences in vertical attention

Dominance-submission has been linked to verticality in studies of metaphor, judgment, and online processing. In all cases, dominance has been associated with higher locations in vertical space, whereas submission has been associated with lower locations in vertical space. The present studies sought to extend this class of vertical metaphors to individual differences in spatial attention. Two studies were conducted. In both, dominance-submission was assessed as an individual difference variable and covert spatial attention tasks were used to assess biases in vertical selective attention. As predicted, dominant individuals were faster to respond to higher spatial probes, whereas submissive individuals were faster to respond to lower spatial probes. These results reinforce a vertical theory of dominance-submission, importantly extending it to individual differences and basic processes of selective attention. Findings are discussed in relation to theories of embodiment, metaphor, personality, and attention.