Cultural factors weaken but do not reverse left-to-right spatial biases in numerosity processing: Data from Arabic and English monoliterates and Arabic-English biliterates

Directional response biases due to a conceptual link between space and number, such as a left-to-right hand bias for increasing numerical magnitude, are known as the SNARC (Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes) effect. We investigated how the SNARC effect for numerosities would be influenced by reading-writing direction, task instructions, and ambient visual environment in four literate populations exemplifying opposite reading-writing cultures—namely, Arabic (right-to-left script) and English (left-to-right script). Monoliterates and biliterates in Jordan and the U.S. completed a speeded numerosity comparison task to assess the directionality and magnitude of a SNARC effect in their numerosity processing. Monoliterates’ results replicated previously documented effects of reading-writing direction and task instructions: the SNARC effect found in left-to-right readers was weakened in right-to-left readers, and the left-to-right group exhibited a task-dependency effect (SNARC effect in the smaller condition, reverse SNARC effect in the larger condition). Biliterates’ results did not show a clear effect of environment; instead, both biliterate groups resembled English monoliterates in showing a left-to-right, task-dependent SNARC effect, albeit weaker than English monoliterates’. The absence of significant biases in all Arabic-reading groups (biliterates and Arabic monoliterates) points to a potential conflict between distinct spatial-numerical mapping codes. This view is explained in terms of the proposed Multiple Competing Codes Theory (MCCT), which posits three distinct spatial-numerical mapping codes (innate, cardinal, ordinal) during numerical processing—each involved at varying levels depending on individual and task factors.

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Effects of stimulus and task structure on temporal perceptual learning

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-80192-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Rannie Xu ◽

Russell M. Church ◽

Yuka Sasaki ◽

Takeo Watanabe

Keyword(s):

Temporal Discrimination ◽

Discrimination Performance ◽

Task Structure ◽

Comparison Task ◽

Interval Representation ◽

Before And After ◽

Temporal Intervals ◽

Context Specific ◽

Temporal Learning ◽

And Task

AbstractOur ability to discriminate temporal intervals can be improved with practice. This learning is generally thought to reflect an enhancement in the representation of a trained interval, which leads to interval-specific improvements in temporal discrimination. In the present study, we asked whether temporal learning is further constrained by context-specific factors dictated through the trained stimulus and task structure. Two groups of participants were trained using a single-interval auditory discrimination task over 5 days. Training intervals were either one of eight predetermined values (FI group), or random from trial to trial (RI group). Before and after the training period, we measured discrimination performance using an untrained two-interval temporal comparison task. Our results revealed a selective improvement in the FI group, but not the RI group. However, this learning did not generalize between the trained and untrained tasks. These results highlight the sensitivity of TPL to stimulus and task structure, suggesting that mechanisms of temporal learning rely on processes beyond changes in interval representation.

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Need something different? Here’s what’s been done: Effects of examples and task instructions on creative idea generation

Memory & Cognition ◽

10.3758/s13421-019-01005-4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 226-243 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tim George ◽

Jennifer Wiley

Keyword(s):

Idea Generation ◽

Creative Idea ◽

Task Instructions ◽

And Task

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Egocentric coding of space for incidentally learned attention: Effects of scene context and task instructions.

Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition ◽

10.1037/a0033870 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

pp. 233-250 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Yuhong V. Jiang ◽

Khena M. Swallow ◽

Liwei Sun

Keyword(s):

Scene Context ◽

Task Instructions ◽

And Task

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The impact of stimulus-specific practice and task instructions on response congruency effects between tasks

Psychological Research ◽

10.1007/s00426-007-0117-3 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 72 (4) ◽

pp. 425-432 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Mike Wendt ◽

Andrea Kiesel

Keyword(s):

Task Instructions ◽

Specific Practice ◽

Response Congruency ◽

The Impact ◽

And Task

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No Evidence for an Influence of Grammatical Number in Two-Digit Magnitude and Place-Value Processing in Adults

10.31234/osf.io/9e7jk ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Julia Huber ◽

Mojtaba Soltanlou ◽

Krzysztof Cipora ◽

Katarzyna Lipowska ◽

Frank Domahs ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Distance Effect ◽

Snarc Effect ◽

Place Value ◽

Comparison Task ◽

Digit Number ◽

Response Level ◽

Response Side ◽

Plural Form ◽

Number Comparison ◽

Grammatical Number

Numerous studies revealed effects of some linguistic properties like inversion or reading/writing direction on number processing. However, it remains more controversial, whether influences at a syntactic level, such as singular vs. plural form associated with certain numbers, can also influence magnitude and place-value processing and vice versa. In this study, we investigated for the first time in a classical two-digit number comparison task whether grammatical number also affects magnitude and place-value processing (and vice versa). To do so, we used a peculiarity of the Polish language, where the inflection of a verb depends on the unit digit of a number (singular for 25-29, 35-39, etc. and plural for 22-24, 32-34, etc.). This systematic pattern allows the manipulation of congruency between grammatical number and magnitude information, both on an item and a response level (i.e., the grammatical number is either compatible or incompatible to the magnitude information or the response side). We observed no significant interference effects, neither between grammatical number (i.e., associated singular/ plural inflection of the number) and magnitude information, nor between grammatical number and the response side. Model comparisons revealed that models without grammatical number, could explain our data best. Hence, grammatical number did not contribute to the explanation of the data beyond unit-decade compatibility, distance effect and SNARC effect and, thus, seems to be negligible in two-digit number comparison. Task characteristics, which might contribute to this finding are discussed.

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Space in numerical and ordinal information: A common construct?

Journal of Numerical Cognition ◽

10.5964/jnc.v3i2.40 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 164-181 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Philipp Alexander Schroeder ◽

Hans-Christoph Nuerk ◽

Christian Plewnia

Keyword(s):

Convergent Validity ◽

Numerical Cognition ◽

Instrumental Learning ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

Snarc Effect ◽

Numerical Magnitude ◽

Spatial Effects ◽

Group Level ◽

Color Classification ◽

Ordinal Information

Space is markedly involved in numerical processing, both explicitly in instrumental learning and implicitly in mental operations on numbers. Besides action decisions, action generations, and attention, the response-related effect of numerical magnitude or ordinality on space is well documented in the Spatial-Numerical Associations of Response Codes (SNARC) effect. Here, right- over left-hand responses become relatively faster with increasing magnitude positions. However, SNARC-like behavioral signatures in non-numerical tasks with ordinal information were also observed and inspired new models integrating seemingly spatial effects of ordinal and numerical metrics. To examine this issue further, we report a comparison between numerical SNARC and ordinal SNARC-like effects to investigate group-level characteristics and individual-level deductions from generalized views, i.e., convergent validity. Participants solved order-relevant (before/after classification) and order-irrelevant tasks (font color classification) with numerical stimuli 1-5, comprising both magnitude and order information, and with weekday stimuli, comprising only ordinal information. A small correlation between magnitude- and order-related SNARCs was observed, but effects are not pronounced in order-irrelevant color judgments. On the group level, order-relevant spatial-numerical associations were best accounted for by a linear magnitude predictor, whereas the SNARC effect for weekdays was categorical. Limited by the representativeness of these tasks and analyses, results are inconsistent with a single amodal cognitive mechanism that activates space in mental processing of cardinal and ordinal information alike. A possible resolution to maintain a generalized view is proposed by discriminating different spatial activations, possibly mediated by visuospatial and verbal working memory, and by relating results to findings from embodied numerical cognition.

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Do task instructions influence readers' topic beliefs, topic belief justifications, and task interest? A mixed methods study

10.26686/wgtn.17005012 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Phillip Charles Sparks

Keyword(s):

High School Students ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

General Purpose ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Task Instruction ◽

Data Sets ◽

School Students ◽

Task Instructions ◽

Task Interest ◽

And Task

<p>The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate whether task instructions influence readers’ topic beliefs, topic belief justifications, and task interest. Year 10 high school students completed a topic beliefs scale about a controversial topic (i.e., whether a prominent transportation tunnel should be widened) and provided a written justification of their beliefs. Then they were randomly assigned to one of four pre-reading task instruction conditions before reading a text that presented arguments that supported and opposed the widening of the tunnel. The first condition received rationale instructions, which provided an explanation as to why putting forth effort during the reading activity was useful and worthwhile. The second condition received evidence instructions, which directed readers to focus on the evidence supporting each argument in the text. The third condition received both evidence and rationale instructions. The fourth condition, the control condition, was asked to read for a general purpose. After reading, participants again completed the topic beliefs scale and topic belief justification. Experimental results showed that task instructions affected topic beliefs and topic belief justifications, but did not affect task interest. More specifically, participants who received evidence instructions moderated their beliefs after reading, and participants in the evidence condition and rationale condition included more opposing arguments in their topic belief justifications after reading. The interview data indicated that task instructions influenced readers’ goals and the strategies they used to meet those goals. The data sets were complementary: the quantitative data indicated differences in topic beliefs and topic belief justifications and the qualitative data allowed us to interpret why these differences occurred. Some students displayed belief-reflection, whereas others displayed belief-protection. Results are discussed and implications are provided.</p>

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“1-2-3”: Is There a Temporal Number Line?

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169.55.3.143 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 55 (3) ◽

pp. 143-150 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Dana Müller ◽

Wolf Schwarz

Keyword(s):

Number Line ◽

Congruity Effect ◽

Snarc Effect ◽

Numerical Magnitude ◽

Response Hand ◽

Semantic Congruity ◽

Left Response ◽

The Right ◽

Semantic Congruity Effect

Abstract. Evidence suggests that numbers are intimately related to space ( Dehaene, Bossini, & Giraux, 1993 ; Hubbard, Piazza, Pinel, & Dehaene, 2005 ). Recently, Walsh (2003) suggested that numbers might also be closely related to time. To investigate this hypothesis we asked participants to compare two digits that were presented in a serial manner, i.e., one after another. Temporally ascending digit pairs (such as 2-3) were responded to faster than temporally descending pairs (3-2). This effect was, in turn, qualified by a local SNARC (spatial numerical association of response codes) effect and a local semantic congruity effect (SCE). Moreover, we observed a global numerical SCE only for temporally descending digit pairs. However, we did not observe a global SNARC effect, i.e., an interaction of numerical magnitude and the right/left response hand. We discuss our results in terms of overlearned forward-associations (“1-2-3”) as formed by our ubiquitous cognitive routines to count off objects or events.

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Encoding Numbers in the Context of Multiple Overlapping Cues: Evidence from a Chinese Finger Number Cognition Study

Perceptual and Motor Skills ◽

10.1177/00315125211044051 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 003151252110440

Author(s):

Qiangqiang Wang ◽

Lina Ma ◽

Weidong Tao ◽

Zhiwei Wang ◽

Guichun Jin

Keyword(s):

Classification Task ◽

Snarc Effect ◽

Numerical Magnitude ◽

Computer Screen ◽

Number Cognition ◽

Number Magnitude ◽

Right Hand ◽

Classification Tasks ◽

Association Effect

How people encode numbers in the context of multiple overlapping encoded cues remains unclear. In this study, we explored Chinese finger numbers, which contain both a numerical magnitude cue and a left-right hand cue offered by the expressing hand, to investigate the number encoding mechanism in the context of multiple overlapping cues. Chinese finger numbers expressed by the left or right hand were randomly and centrally presented on a computer screen to participants who were asked to perform a hand classification task (Experiment 1), a magnitude classification task (Experiment 2), a parity classification task (Experiment 3) and a magnitude classification or ring classification task (Experiment 4). We discovered (a) only an association effect between the pressed key and the expressing hand in hand classification and parity classification tasks, (b) the SNARC effect only on the magnitude classification task, (c) the association effect between the pressed key and the expressing hand on the larger, Chinese finger number, magnitude classification task in Experiment 2, and (d) the SNARC effect and the association between the pressed key and the expressing hand were reversed on the ring classification task. From these results, we concluded that people can flexibly choose appropriate number encoding cues and how numbers are encoded in the context of multiple overlapping cues depending on (a) which cognition task individuals perform and (b) the character of the numbers involved.

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