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 Experiment Videos

Quantifying a threat: Evidence of a numeric processing bias.

Karina A Hamamouche1, Laura Niemi2, Sara Cordes1

  • 1Boston College, Department of Psychology, 140 Commonwealth Ave, 300 McGuinn Hall, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA.

Acta Psychologica
|April 16, 2017
PubMed
Summary

Threatening stimuli impair numerical estimation and discrimination. However, threat presented before neutral stimuli can enhance numerical processing, suggesting attention mediates threat's impact on quantifying visual information.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Language learning in canines and toddlers: Shared origins?

Journal of experimental psychology. Animal learning and cognition·2026
Same author

Language Access is a Catalyst for Early Numerical Abilities.

Developmental science·2026
Same author

ManyNumbers 3: A Multi-Lab Study of Demographic Correlates of Early Number Knowledge.

Developmental science·2026
Same author

The impact of perceptual diversity in numerical discrimination.

Journal of experimental child psychology·2025
Same author

The International Climate Psychology Collaboration: Climate change-related data collected from 63 countries.

Scientific data·2024
Same author

The emotional impact of baseless discrediting of knowledge: An empirical investigation of epistemic injustice.

Acta psychologica·2024

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Visual Perception
  • Threat Detection

Background:

  • Humans prioritize threat processing, influencing perceptual and cognitive tasks.
  • The impact of threat on numerical quantification remains largely unexplored.
  • Understanding threat's effect on numerical abilities is crucial for cognitive science.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how threatening stimuli affect numerical estimation and discrimination.
  • To determine if the nature of threat (intrinsic vs. extrinsic) modulates numerical processing.
  • To elucidate the role of attention in threat-related numerical processing changes.

Main Methods:

  • Three experiments were conducted using adult participants.
  • Participants performed numerical estimation and discrimination tasks with threatening (spiders) and non-threatening (flowers) stimuli.
Keywords:
Number processingNumerical cognitionNumerical discriminationThreat estimation

Related Experiment Videos

  • Stimulus presentation varied to examine intrinsic and extrinsic threat effects.

    • Main Results:

    • Participants underestimated the quantity of threatening stimuli (Experiment 1).
    • Numerical discrimination was impaired with threatening stimuli (Experiment 2).
    • Discrimination of neutral stimuli improved when preceded by threatening content (Experiment 3).

    Conclusions:

    • Threat significantly impacts visual numerosity processing, mediated by attentional shifts.
    • Intrinsic threat within stimuli hinders quantification, while extrinsic threat enhances subsequent numerical processing.
    • The context and nature of threat are critical determinants of its effect on numerical cognition.