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Viarouge A, de Hevia MD. What makes different number-space mappings interact? PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2024:10.1007/s00426-024-01958-5. [PMID: 38607389 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-024-01958-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
Models of numerical cognition consider a visuo-spatial representation to be at the core of numerical processing, the 'mental number line'. Two main interference effects between number and space have been described: the SNARC effect reflects a small number/left side and large number/right side association (number-location mapping); the size-congruity effect (SCE) reflects a small number/small size and large number/large size association (number-size mapping). Critically, a thorough investigation on the representational source for these two number-space mappings is lacking, leaving open the question of whether the same representation underlies both phenomena. Here, we build on a recent study (Viarouge and de Hevia in Front Hum Neurosci 15:750964, 2021) in order to address this question in three experiments, by systematically manipulating the presence of the two conditions that might elicit an interaction between SNARC and SCE: (i) an implicit task whereby numerical and spatial information are task-irrelevant, (ii) a design in which the number-space congruency relative to both mappings vary at the same level -either both within or between blocks. Experiment 1 replicated the interaction between the two mappings when both factors were present. Experiments 2 and 3 dissociated the two factors by varying the two mappings at the same level but using an explicit comparison task (Experiment 2), or by using an implicit task but with mappings varying at different levels (Experiment 3). We found that both factors, either in combination or used in isolation, drive the interaction between the two number-space mappings. These findings are discussed in terms of the weight given to each mapping, suggesting that a single representation encompassing both number-space mappings is therefore activated whenever both mappings are given equal weight through task requirements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Viarouge
- Laboratory for the Psychology of Child Development and Education (LaPsyDÉ), CNRS, Université Paris Cité, 46 Rue Saint Jacques, 75005, Paris, France.
| | - Maria Dolores de Hevia
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, F-75006, Paris, France
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Mariconda A, Murgia M, De Tommaso M, Mingolo S, Agostini T, Prpic V. Temporal speed prevails on interval duration in the SNARC-like effect for tempo. Atten Percept Psychophys 2024; 86:263-272. [PMID: 37985595 PMCID: PMC10770242 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-023-02816-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
The Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect is evidence of an association between number magnitude and response position, with faster left-key responses to small numbers and faster right-key responses to large numbers. Similarly, recent studies revealed a SNARC-like effect for tempo, defined as the speed of an auditory sequence, with faster left-key responses to slow tempo and faster right-key responses to fast tempo. In order to address some methodological issues of previous studies, in the present study we designed an experiment to investigate the occurrence of a SNARC-like effect for tempo, employing a novel procedure in which only two auditory beats in sequence with a very short interstimulus interval were used. In the "temporal speed" condition, participants were required to judge the temporal speed (slow or fast) of the sequence. In the "interval duration" condition, participants were required to judge the duration of the interval between the two beats (short or long). The results revealed a consistent SNARC-like effect in both conditions, with faster left-hand responses to slow tempo and faster right-hand responses to fast tempo. Interestingly, the consistency of the results across the two conditions indicates that the direction of the SNARC-like effect was influenced by temporal speed even when participants were explicitly required to focus on interval duration. Overall, the current study extends previous findings by employing a new paradigm that addresses potential confounding factors and strengthens evidence for the SNARC-like effect for tempo.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mauro Murgia
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
| | | | - Serena Mingolo
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Tiziano Agostini
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Valter Prpic
- Department of Philosophy and Communication Studies, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
- Institute for Psychological Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.
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Prpic V, Basamh YA, Goodridge CM, Agostini T, Murgia M. Contrasting symbolic and non-symbolic numerical representations in a joint classification task. Psychon Bull Rev 2023; 30:1422-1430. [PMID: 36650364 PMCID: PMC10482780 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-023-02246-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Both symbolic (digits) and non-symbolic (dots) numerals are spatially coded, with relatively small numbers being responded faster with a left key and large numbers being responded faster with a right key (spatial-numerical association of response codes [SNARC]). The idea of format independent SNARC seems to support the existence of a common system for symbolic and non-symbolic numerical representations, although evidence in the field is still mixed. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether symbolic and non-symbolic numerals interact in the SNARC effect when both information is simultaneously displayed. To do so, participants were presented with dice-like patterns, with digits being used instead of dots. In two separate magnitude classification tasks, participants had to respond either to the number of digits presented on the screen or to their numerical size. In the non-symbolic task, they had to judge whether the digits on the screen were more or less than three, irrespective of the numerical value of the digits. In the symbolic task, participants had to judge whether the digits on the screen were numerically smaller or larger than three, irrespective of the number of digits being present. The results show a consistent SNARC effect in the symbolic task and no effect in the non-symbolic one. Furthermore, congruency between symbolic and non-symbolic numerals did not modulate the response patterns, thus supporting the idea of independent representations and questioning some propositions of current theoretical accounts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valter Prpic
- Department of Philosophy and Communication Studies, University of Bologna, Via Azzo Gardino 23, Bologna, Italy.
- Institute for Psychological Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.
| | - Yasmine A Basamh
- Institute for Psychological Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK
| | | | - Tiziano Agostini
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Mauro Murgia
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
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SNARC effect modulated by central executive control: revealed in a cue-based trisection task. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2020; 85:2223-2236. [PMID: 32869153 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-020-01407-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
People respond to small numbers faster with the left hand and respond to large numbers faster with the right hand, a phenomenon known as the Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect. Whether the SNARC effect originates from culturally determined long-term experience or the task-set-influenced temporary associations among spaces, locations, and numerical magnitudes in working memory (WM) is still controversial. In the present study, we used a trisection paradigm in which numbers were divided into three categories (small: 1, 2; middle: 4, 5, 6; and large: 8, 9) to explore whether the central executive control can modulate the SNARC effect. Participants were serially presented with a cue and a target number. The cue denoted a task rule, which informed participants to compare the target number with either 3 or 7. The cue was either switched or repeated across trials. We found that the SNARC effects were observed in the cue-switching condition. In the cue-repeat condition, the SNARC effect disappeared. These findings suggest that the SNARC effect is modulated by set-shifting-related central executive control in WM, supporting the view that the SNARC effect is WM-dependent.
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Wang Z. Influence of Number Location on the SNARC Effect: Evidence From the Processing of Rotated Traditional Chinese Numerical Words. Iperception 2020; 11:2041669520917169. [PMID: 32284844 PMCID: PMC7132793 DOI: 10.1177/2041669520917169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies have widely captured the spatial-numerical association of response codes (SNARC) effect in the processing of various types of numbers in which small numbers are responded to faster with the left hand than with the right hand and larger numbers are responded to faster with the right hand than with the left hand. Although a few studies have explored Arabic numbers to further investigate the influence of number location on the SNARC effect, it remains unclear whether the influence of number location on the SNARC effect is moderated by numerical semantic processing difficulty and the task performed. This study explored traditional Chinese numerical words and rotated them to certain angles, which can increase numerical semantic processing difficulty, to further investigate the influence of the stimulus-response compatibility effect and Simon effect on the SNARC effect in a space classification task (Experiment 1), numerical magnitude classification task (Experiment 2), numerical parity classification task (Experiment 3), and color classification task (Experiment 4). The results indicated that (a) the stimulus-response compatibility effect, not the SNARC effect, prevailed in the numerical space classification task; (b) the SNARC effect, not the Simon effect, prevailed in the numerical magnitude and parity classification task; and (c) the Simon effect and the SNARC effect coexisted in the color classification task. These results suggested that the influence of number location on the SNARC effect was moderated by the task performed. Implications for the theory of the SNARC effect and Simon effect are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiwei Wang
- School of Psychology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
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Schroeder PA, Artemenko C, Cipora K, Svaldi J. Regional specificity of cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) effects on spatial-numerical associations: Comparison of four stimulation sites. J Neurosci Res 2019; 98:655-667. [PMID: 31785042 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2019] [Revised: 10/16/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Based on a theory of impulsive and reflective human behavior, we test the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) targeting either prefrontal or parietal cortex in either hemisphere. In a confirmatory registered report, cathodal tDCS is administered to conceptually reproduce tDCS modulations of implicit spatial-numerical associations, numerical distance effects, and response inhibition. Those cognitive operations are hypothesized to draw on left prefrontal, parietal, and right prefrontal activations, respectively, thereby susceptible to inhibitory, cathodal tDCS across those regions. Vice versa, the mutual regional and behavioral specificity of tDCS effects on these behavioral indices is examined and expected to produce double dissociations. In a mixed within-subjects (baseline, during tDCS, post-tDCS) and between-subjects (target electrode: left/right prefrontal cortex/posterior parietal cortex, or sham tDCS) design, we collect (a) confirmatory data on the robustness of cathodal tDCS effects on three behavioral effects and (b) differential data on the specificity of regional targets in male and female human participants. Results will provide crucial tests of theories of cortical organization implied by implicit associations and explicit regulation, which can direct future brain stimulation studies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christina Artemenko
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,LEAD Research Network, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Krzysztof Cipora
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,LEAD Research Network, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jennifer Svaldi
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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