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Updated: Mar 5, 2026
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The Spatial Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition
Published on: February 19, 2018
11.4K
Implicit spatial-numerical associations: Negative numbers and the role of counting direction
Martin H Fischer1, Samuel Shaki2
1Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam.
Summary
This study shows negative numbers are linked to left space, extending the mental number line. This finding was specific to adults who count from left to right, impacting our understanding of abstract number concepts.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Number Representation
Background:
- Debate exists on whether negative numbers share the same mental number line as positive numbers.
- Previous studies have limitations in investigating this cognitive representation.
- Understanding number line extension is crucial for cognitive science.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cognitive representation of negative numbers in relation to the mental number line.
- To overcome limitations of prior research using nonspatial stimuli and responses.
- To determine if negative numbers are implicitly associated with a specific spatial orientation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized nonspatial stimuli and responses to avoid confounding spatial biases.
- Assessed implicit associations between number valence (positive/negative) and spatial location.
- Compared results between individuals with different counting directions (left-to-right vs. right-to-left).
Main Results:
- Demonstrated a systematic implicit association of negative numbers with left space.
- Provided evidence for a leftward extension of the mental number line.
- This association was significant only in adults who count from left to right.
Conclusions:
- Negative number concepts appear to extend the mental number line into left space for left-to-right counters.
- Suggests an experiential basis for abstract conceptual knowledge, linking number processing to spatial representation.
- Highlights the influence of cultural conventions (e.g., writing direction) on abstract cognition.
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