Spatial Presentations, but Not Response Formats Influence Spatial-Numerical Associations in Adults
According to theories of embodied numerosity, processing of numerical magnitude is anchored in bodily experiences. In particular, spatial representations of number interact with movement in physical space, but it is still unclear whether the extent of the movement is relevant for this interaction. I...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2018-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02608/full |
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| author | Ursula Fischer Ursula Fischer Ursula Fischer Stefan Huber Hans-Christoph Nuerk Hans-Christoph Nuerk Ulrike Cress Ulrike Cress Korbinian Moeller Korbinian Moeller |
| author_facet | Ursula Fischer Ursula Fischer Ursula Fischer Stefan Huber Hans-Christoph Nuerk Hans-Christoph Nuerk Ulrike Cress Ulrike Cress Korbinian Moeller Korbinian Moeller |
| author_sort | Ursula Fischer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | According to theories of embodied numerosity, processing of numerical magnitude is anchored in bodily experiences. In particular, spatial representations of number interact with movement in physical space, but it is still unclear whether the extent of the movement is relevant for this interaction. In this study, we compared spatial-numerical associations over response movements of differing spatial expansion. We expected spatial-numerical effects to increase with the extent of physical response movements. In addition, we hypothesized that these effects should be influenced by whether or not a spatial representation of numbers was presented. Adult participants performed two tasks: a magnitude classification (comparing numbers to the fixed standard 5), from which we calculated the Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect; and a magnitude comparison task (comparing two numbers against each other), from which we calculated a relative numerical congruity effect (NCE), which describes that when two relatively small numbers are compared, responses to the smaller number are faster than responses to the larger number; and vice versa for large numbers. A SNARC effect was observed across all conditions and was not influenced by response movement extent but increased when a number line was presented. In contrast, an NCE was only observed when no number line was presented. This suggests that the SNARC effect and the NCE reflect two different processes. The SNARC effect seems to represent a highly automated classification of numbers as large or small, which is further emphasized by the presentation of a number line. In contrast, the NCE likely results from participants not only classifying numbers as small or large, but also processing their relative size within the relevant section of their mental number line representation. An additional external presentation of a number line might interfere with this process, resulting in overall slower responses. This study follows up on previous spatial-numerical training studies and has implications for future spatial-numerical trainings. Specifically, similar studies with children showed contrasting results, in that response format but not number line presentation influenced spatial-numerical associations. Accordingly, during development, the relative relevance of physical experiences and presentation format for spatial-numerical associations might change. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T00:43:07Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-abb5ba20e31746509584910b2fd6e9d72022-12-22T03:54:57ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782018-12-01910.3389/fpsyg.2018.02608419424Spatial Presentations, but Not Response Formats Influence Spatial-Numerical Associations in AdultsUrsula Fischer0Ursula Fischer1Ursula Fischer2Stefan Huber3Hans-Christoph Nuerk4Hans-Christoph Nuerk5Ulrike Cress6Ulrike Cress7Korbinian Moeller8Korbinian Moeller9Department of Sport Science, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, GermanyThurgau University of Teacher Education, Kreuzlingen, SwitzerlandLeibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Tübingen, GermanyLeibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Tübingen, GermanyLeibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Tübingen, GermanyDepartment of Psychology, University of Tuebingen, Tübingen, GermanyLeibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Tübingen, GermanyDepartment of Psychology, University of Tuebingen, Tübingen, GermanyLeibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Tübingen, GermanyDepartment of Psychology, University of Tuebingen, Tübingen, GermanyAccording to theories of embodied numerosity, processing of numerical magnitude is anchored in bodily experiences. In particular, spatial representations of number interact with movement in physical space, but it is still unclear whether the extent of the movement is relevant for this interaction. In this study, we compared spatial-numerical associations over response movements of differing spatial expansion. We expected spatial-numerical effects to increase with the extent of physical response movements. In addition, we hypothesized that these effects should be influenced by whether or not a spatial representation of numbers was presented. Adult participants performed two tasks: a magnitude classification (comparing numbers to the fixed standard 5), from which we calculated the Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect; and a magnitude comparison task (comparing two numbers against each other), from which we calculated a relative numerical congruity effect (NCE), which describes that when two relatively small numbers are compared, responses to the smaller number are faster than responses to the larger number; and vice versa for large numbers. A SNARC effect was observed across all conditions and was not influenced by response movement extent but increased when a number line was presented. In contrast, an NCE was only observed when no number line was presented. This suggests that the SNARC effect and the NCE reflect two different processes. The SNARC effect seems to represent a highly automated classification of numbers as large or small, which is further emphasized by the presentation of a number line. In contrast, the NCE likely results from participants not only classifying numbers as small or large, but also processing their relative size within the relevant section of their mental number line representation. An additional external presentation of a number line might interfere with this process, resulting in overall slower responses. This study follows up on previous spatial-numerical training studies and has implications for future spatial-numerical trainings. Specifically, similar studies with children showed contrasting results, in that response format but not number line presentation influenced spatial-numerical associations. Accordingly, during development, the relative relevance of physical experiences and presentation format for spatial-numerical associations might change.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02608/fullspatial-numerical associationsnumerical processingmagnitude representationembodied numerositySNARC effect |
| spellingShingle | Ursula Fischer Ursula Fischer Ursula Fischer Stefan Huber Hans-Christoph Nuerk Hans-Christoph Nuerk Ulrike Cress Ulrike Cress Korbinian Moeller Korbinian Moeller Spatial Presentations, but Not Response Formats Influence Spatial-Numerical Associations in Adults Frontiers in Psychology spatial-numerical associations numerical processing magnitude representation embodied numerosity SNARC effect |
| title | Spatial Presentations, but Not Response Formats Influence Spatial-Numerical Associations in Adults |
| title_full | Spatial Presentations, but Not Response Formats Influence Spatial-Numerical Associations in Adults |
| title_fullStr | Spatial Presentations, but Not Response Formats Influence Spatial-Numerical Associations in Adults |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatial Presentations, but Not Response Formats Influence Spatial-Numerical Associations in Adults |
| title_short | Spatial Presentations, but Not Response Formats Influence Spatial-Numerical Associations in Adults |
| title_sort | spatial presentations but not response formats influence spatial numerical associations in adults |
| topic | spatial-numerical associations numerical processing magnitude representation embodied numerosity SNARC effect |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02608/full |
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