SNARC-like effect for tempo is consistent for fast and full tempo ranges but still controversial for slow tempo range

Recent evidence suggested the existence of a spatial associations for music tempo with faster left-hand responses to relatively slow tempos and faster right-hand responses to relatively fast tempos. We refer to a study that systematically explored these spatial associations across different tempo ranges, revealed a clear effect only in the fast tempo range (DOI 10.3758/s13414-019-01945-8). The present study further investigated whether a spatial association exists across different tempo ranges (i.e., “full”, “slow” or “fast” tempo range). In particular, the present study was conducted aiming (1) to test the spatial associations for tempo in the full tempo range (Experiment 1) and (2) to further investigate the occurrence of this spatial associations in the slow and fast tempo ranges (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 revealed a spatial association for tempo occurs in the full tempo range (40–200 bpm). Experiment 2 confirmed this association in the fast tempo range (133–201 bpm) but showed contradictory results in the slow tempo range (40–104 bpm). This suggests that a spatial association is plausible in the slow tempo range, although further research is needed to clarify this phenomenon.