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Exploring the interactions among SNARC effect, finger counting direction and embodied cognition.
1Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
Peerj
|May 22, 2020
Summary
The Spatial Numerical Association of Response Code (SNARC) links small numbers to the left and large numbers to the right. This study shows SNARC effects generalize to hand gestures, supporting embodied cognition in numerical processing.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Embodied Cognition
Background:
- The Spatial Numerical Association of Response Code (SNARC) describes a bias associating smaller numerical magnitudes with the left side and larger magnitudes with the right.
- Existing research suggests a potential link between the SNARC effect and habitual finger counting patterns, particularly a left-to-right progression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between finger counting habits and the SNARC effect.
- To determine if the SNARC effect can be elicited using hand images as stimuli, exploring the role of embodied cognition.
- To examine how different hand postures (palm-up, palm-down) influence numerical processing and SNARC effects.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 268 participants assessed their natural hand-counting habits from 1 to 10.
- A second experiment with 46 participants involved categorizing numerical magnitudes (1-5) as even or odd using left and right hand responses.
- Stimuli included Arabic numerals and photographs of hands in palm-up and palm-down positions.
Main Results:
- 80% of participants naturally initiated counting with their right hand, predominantly in a palm-up posture.
- The SNARC effect was confirmed for Arabic numeral stimuli.
- Hand image stimuli also elicited SNARC effects, particularly with left-hand palm-up images, indicating generalization across response codes.
- Interactions between numerical magnitudes and hand image presentations suggested that embodied cognition influences numerical processing.
Conclusions:
- Finger counting habits, specifically right-hand initiation, are common and may relate to spatial-numerical associations.
- The SNARC effect is not limited to abstract numerical representations but can be generalized to embodied stimuli like hand images.
- Embodied cognition, influenced by hand posture and spatial associations, plays a significant role in how humans process numerical information.
Keywords:
Finger countingHandsMagnitudeMental Number Line (MNL)Spatial Numerical Association of Response Code (SNARC)More Related Videos
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