Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior01:28

Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior

199
Automatic processing refers to the cognitive operations that occur without conscious intent or awareness, playing a fundamental role in shaping social cognition and behavior. These processes enable individuals to navigate complex social environments efficiently by relying on mental shortcuts and pre-existing knowledge structures known as schemas. One of the most influential mechanisms underlying automatic processing is priming, which subtly activates mental representations through exposure to...
199
Encoding01:19

Encoding

724
Information enters the brain through encoding, which is the input of information into the memory system. Once sensory information is received from the environment, the brain labels or codes it. The information is then organized with similar information and connected to existing concepts. Encoding occurs through automatic processing and effortful processing.
Automatic processing involves the encoding of details like time, space, frequency, and the meaning of words, usually done without conscious...
724
Parallel Processing01:20

Parallel Processing

605
The brain processes sensory information rapidly due to parallel processing, which involves sending data across multiple neural pathways at the same time. This method allows the brain to manage various sensory qualities, such as shapes, colors, movements, and locations, all concurrently. For instance, when observing a forest landscape, the brain simultaneously processes the movement of leaves, the shapes of trees, the depth between them, and the various shades of green. This enables a quick and...
605
Chunking and Rehearsal in Sensory Memory01:22

Chunking and Rehearsal in Sensory Memory

546
Improving short-term memory can be achieved through techniques like chunking and rehearsal. Chunking involves organizing information into larger, more manageable units. This technique is particularly useful for information that exceeds the typical memory span of between five and nine items. For instance, logging into an online account with a password like "ta89vq0179gz" involves grouping letters and numbers into three chunks—ta89, vq01, and 79gz. It makes large amounts of...
546
The Representativeness Heuristic02:13

The Representativeness Heuristic

16.7K
The representative heuristic describes a biased way of thinking, in which you unintentionally stereotype someone or something. For example, you may assume that your professors spend their free time reading books and engaging in intellectual conversation, because the idea of them spending their time playing volleyball or visiting an amusement park does not fit in with your stereotypes of professors.
16.7K
Chunking01:12

Chunking

365
Chunking is a powerful cognitive technique that improves short-term memory retention by organizing information into smaller, more manageable units. The brain, limited by working memory capacity, can more easily process and store information when it is divided into "chunks" rather than presented as discrete, unrelated elements. Chunking is especially useful when dealing with large amounts of information, such as numerical sequences, words, or complex ideas.
The principle behind chunking...
365

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

A Computational Model of Basic Addition Solving.

Cognitive science·2026
Same author

Assessing the involvement of long-term memory in working memory.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
Same author

Patterns of solution times for simple addition problems in 12-year-old children are not compatible with retrieval models: A rebuttal to Andras and Macizo (2025).

Journal of experimental child psychology·2026
Same author

Eye movements when reading Arabic numbers in sentences.

Acta psychologica·2025
Same author

The role of children's finger counting history on their addition skills.

Developmental psychology·2025
Same author

Different measures of working memory decline at different rates across adult ageing and dual task costs plateau in mid-life.

Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006)·2025
Same journal

Music enhances associative generalization: Evidence from a memory integration task.

Memory & cognition·2026
Same journal

Video, text, and memory: An emotional verbal overshadowing effect.

Memory & cognition·2026
Same journal

Limited protective effects of multilingualism against age-related cognitive decline.

Memory & cognition·2026
Same journal

Validation of illustrated texts: Can pictures raise awareness of inconsistencies?

Memory & cognition·2026
Same journal

4I remember (and forget) your happy smiling face: Directed forgetting of emotionally expressive faces of in-group and out-group members.

Memory & cognition·2026
Same journal

Identity in the spotlight: Matching faces without overlapping features.

Memory & cognition·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 9, 2026

A Within-Subject Experimental Design using an Object Location Task in Rats
09:28

A Within-Subject Experimental Design using an Object Location Task in Rats

Published on: May 6, 2021

5.1K

Encoding numbers: behavioral evidence for processing-specific representations.

Catherine Thevenot1, Pierre Barrouillet

  • 1University of Sussex, Brighton, England. catht@biols.susx.ac.uk

Memory & Cognition
|October 27, 2006
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study reveals that number processing complexity varies by operation and digit quantity. Subtraction and addition with larger numbers require more complex encoding than comparisons.

More Related Videos

Generating Strictly Controlled Stimuli for Figure Recognition Experiments
05:39

Generating Strictly Controlled Stimuli for Figure Recognition Experiments

Published on: March 18, 2019

5.5K
Using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Measure Set-Specific Capture, a Consequence of Distraction While Multitasking
05:58

Using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Measure Set-Specific Capture, a Consequence of Distraction While Multitasking

Published on: August 29, 2018

9.3K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 9, 2026

A Within-Subject Experimental Design using an Object Location Task in Rats
09:28

A Within-Subject Experimental Design using an Object Location Task in Rats

Published on: May 6, 2021

5.1K
Generating Strictly Controlled Stimuli for Figure Recognition Experiments
05:39

Generating Strictly Controlled Stimuli for Figure Recognition Experiments

Published on: March 18, 2019

5.5K
Using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Measure Set-Specific Capture, a Consequence of Distraction While Multitasking
05:58

Using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Measure Set-Specific Capture, a Consequence of Distraction While Multitasking

Published on: August 29, 2018

9.3K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Numerical Cognition

Background:

  • Understanding how the brain encodes and processes numerical information is crucial for cognitive science.
  • Existing models, like Dehaene's triple-code model, propose distinct representational formats for numerical operations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the hypothesis that each numerical processing task requires a specific input representational format.
  • To examine the complexity of number encoding during addition, subtraction, and comparison tasks.

Main Methods:

  • Three experiments were conducted with adult participants.
  • A self-presentation procedure measured the time taken to encode the first number during successive presentations.
  • Participants performed addition, subtraction, or comparison tasks with one- and two-digit numbers.

Main Results:

  • Self-presentation times, indicative of encoding complexity, differed based on the numerical operation and number of digits.
  • Addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers showed longer encoding times than comparisons.
  • Subtraction of one-digit numbers also resulted in longer encoding times compared to addition and comparison.

Conclusions:

  • The findings support a complex number encoding hypothesis, where different operations necessitate distinct representational formats.
  • Results align with Dehaene's triple-code model, suggesting specific neural representations for numerical tasks.
  • The study contributes to understanding the cognitive architecture underlying numerical cognition.