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Published on: June 4, 2019
Numerical and physical magnitudes are mapped into time.
Shachar Ben-Meir1, Dana Ganor-Stern, Joseph Tzelgov
1Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Summary
Numerical and physical size comparisons are faster for ascending number order. This temporal order effect is stronger for physical size, and both order and size congruity impact comparisons additively.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Numerical Cognition
- Magnitude Representation
Background:
- Humans can process both numerical and physical magnitude information.
- The relationship between numerical and physical magnitudes and their processing order is not fully understood.
- Investigating how temporal order interacts with magnitude comparison is crucial for understanding cognitive processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of temporal order on the comparison of numerical and physical magnitudes.
- To examine the size congruity effect in relation to temporal order.
- To determine how temporal order and magnitude congruency interact during comparison tasks.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments were conducted using sequential digit presentation for size comparison tasks.
- Participants compared numerical and physical sizes of digits under different temporal orders (ascending/descending).
- The size congruity effect was assessed by varying both numerical and physical sizes of digits.
Main Results:
- An advantage for ascending numerical order was observed in both physical and numerical magnitude comparisons.
- The temporal order effect was more pronounced for physical size comparisons than for numerical comparisons.
- A size congruity effect was evident, indicating automatic processing of irrelevant magnitude information.
- Temporal order and size congruity independently influenced comparison performance in an additive manner.
Conclusions:
- Temporal order, specifically ascending numerical sequence, facilitates magnitude comparisons.
- Physical magnitude comparisons are more susceptible to temporal order effects than numerical comparisons.
- Magnitude congruency and temporal order appear to affect distinct stages of the comparison process.
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