Shifting attention does not influence numerical processing
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Shifting attention does not influence numerical processing Andrew Clement 1,2 & Alexandra Moffat 1 & Jay Pratt 1
# The Psychonomic Society, Inc. 2020
Abstract Many theories of numerical cognition assume that numbers and space share a common representation at the response level. For example, observers are faster to respond to small numbers with their left hand and large numbers with their right hand (the SNARC effect). There is also evidence that viewing numbers can produce spatial shifts of attention, suggesting that attention may play a role in the spatial representation of numbers. In the present study, we assessed whether shifts of attention can influence numerical processing. Participants viewed a leftward or rightward peripheral cue followed by a centrally presented number, then judged whether the number was odd or even. Participants responded faster and made fewer errors when the number magnitude and response side were compatible, revealing a response-based SNARC effect. Participants also responded faster when the cue direction and response side were compatible, revealing a Simon effect. However, participants did not respond faster when the cue direction and number magnitude were compatible. Similar findings were observed when the association between numbers and space was relatively explicit. Moreover, although we failed to observe a response-based SNARC effect when number magnitude was directly relevant to observers’ task, we observed a large Simon effect. Together, these findings suggest that although numbers and space share a common representation at the response level, attention does not play a substantial role in the spatial representation of numbers. Keywords Numbers . Spatial processing . Attention . Spatial cueing . Embodied cognition
Many theories of numerical cognition assume that numbers and space share a common representation. This association between numbers and space is not only reflected in the common use of graphs and number lines, but can also influence the processing of numerical information. An influential example of this comes from a study by Dehaene, Bossini, and Giraux (1993). In their study, participants viewed a centrally presented number, then judged whether the number was odd or even. The researchers found that participants were faster to respond to small numbers with their left hand and large numbers with their right hand (see also Dehaene, Dupoux, & Mehler, 1990). This spatialnumerical association of response codes (the SNARC effect) suggests that observers represent numerical information along a mental number line, with small numbers on the left and large numbers on the right. Importantly, the SNARC effect has been
* Andrew Clement [email protected] 1
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, Canada
2
Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
observed for both parity and magnitude judgments (Dehaene et al., 1993; Dehaene et al., 1990), suggesting that this effect can occur regardless
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