The sound-free SMARC effect: The spatial-musical association of response codes using only sound imagery

This study provides clear evidence that the human cognitive system automatically codes sound pitch spatially. The spatial-musical association of response codes (SMARC) effect, in which a high-pitched (low-pitched) tone facilitates an upper (lower) response, is considered to reflect the spatial coding of sound pitch. However, previous studies have not excluded the directional effects of sound localization. Because a high-pitched (low-pitched)...