Numbers around Descartes: A preregistered study on the three-dimensional SNARC effect
Sara Aleotti1, Francesco Di Girolamo2, Stefano Massaccesi3
1Department of General Psychology and Human Inspired Technology Research Centre, University of Padua, Italy.
Cognition
|November 16, 2019
Summary
The Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect reveals numbers are mapped in 3D space. This study found equally strong horizontal, vertical, and sagittal SNARC effects, supporting a 3D mental number space.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Spatial Cognition
Background:
- The Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect typically demonstrates a left-to-right horizontal mental number line.
- Evidence for vertical and sagittal SNARC effects is less consistent, potentially due to varied experimental methods and axis definitions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the SNARC effect across horizontal, vertical, and sagittal dimensions using a unified experimental paradigm.
- To determine if SNARC effects are equally robust across these three spatial axes.
Main Methods:
- A classic SNARC task was employed to assess numerical-spatial associations.
- Participants responded to numerical stimuli, allowing for the measurement of response biases along different spatial axes.
Main Results:
- The study found significant and equally strong SNARC effects along the horizontal, vertical, and sagittal axes.
- This indicates a consistent spatial mapping of numbers in three dimensions.
Conclusions:
- The findings provide strong evidence for a three-dimensional mental representation of numbers.
- Numbers appear to be organized within a mental number space defined by Cartesian coordinates (horizontal, vertical, and sagittal).
