Dancing with the SNARC: Measuring spatial-numerical associations on a digital dance mat.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Embodied numerosity theory posits that physical experiences shape numerical magnitude processing.
• Spatial-numerical associations, like the mental number line, are key to understanding this influence.
• Investigating embodied numerosity in children is crucial for understanding numerical development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how full-body movement and number line presentation affect spatial-numerical associations in children.
• To determine if horizontal body movement and visual number lines contribute to spatial-numerical associations.
• To explore the interplay between response modalities and numerical magnitude processing.

Main Methods:

• Fourth-grade children completed magnitude comparison tasks with varying response types (verbal, foot tap, jumping) and visual stimuli (with/without number line).
• Two spatial-numerical effects, SNARC and a novel relative numerical congruity effect, were calculated.
• Data analysis focused on the influence of response modalities and visual presentation on these effects.

Main Results:

• The Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect was consistent across all conditions.
• A new relative numerical congruity effect was significantly influenced by response variations, supporting hypotheses.
• Bodily movement responses amplified spatial-numerical associations compared to verbal responses, independent of number line presentation.

Conclusions:

• Full-body movement significantly enhances spatial-numerical associations in elementary schoolchildren.
• Response modalities, particularly physical actions, play a critical role in activating numerical-spatial links.
• These findings provide novel insights into embodied cognition and numerical development using a full-body approach.