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 Concept Videos

Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior01:28

Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior

22
Automatic processing refers to the cognitive operations that occur without conscious intent or awareness, playing a fundamental role in shaping social cognition and behavior. These processes enable individuals to navigate complex social environments efficiently by relying on mental shortcuts and pre-existing knowledge structures known as schemas. One of the most influential mechanisms underlying automatic processing is priming, which subtly activates mental representations through exposure to...
22
Mechanistic Models: Compartment Models in Algorithms for Numerical Problem Solving01:29

Mechanistic Models: Compartment Models in Algorithms for Numerical Problem Solving

117
Mechanistic models play a crucial role in algorithms for numerical problem-solving, particularly in nonlinear mixed effects modeling (NMEM). These models aim to minimize specific objective functions by evaluating various parameter estimates, leading to the development of systematic algorithms. In some cases, linearization techniques approximate the model using linear equations.
In individual population analyses, different algorithms are employed, such as Cauchy's method, which uses a...
117
Constraints and Statical Determinacy01:26

Constraints and Statical Determinacy

757
In structural engineering, the equilibrium of a system is not only determined by its equations of equilibrium but also with the help of constraints. Constraints refer to restrictions on the motion of a system. The proper combinations of constraints can minimize the total number of constraints needed to maintain a system in mechanical equilibrium. When this happens, the system is said to be statically determinate. For such systems, the unknown reaction supports can be estimated using equilibrium...
757
Statically Indeterminate Problem Solving01:16

Statically Indeterminate Problem Solving

529
Statically indeterminate problems are those where statics alone can not determine the internal forces or reactions. Consider a structure comprising two cylindrical rods made of steel and brass. These rods are joined at point B and restrained by rigid supports at points A and C. Now, the reactions at points A and C and the deflection at point B are to be determined. This rod structure is classified as statically indeterminate as the structure has more supports than are necessary for maintaining...
529
Fixed Action Patterns01:06

Fixed Action Patterns

16.6K
A fixed action pattern (FAP) is a specific, hard-wired sequence of behaviors that occurs in response to an external stimulus, called a sign stimulus. The behavior is “fixed” because it is essentially unchangeable—proceeding similarly across individuals of a species every time it occurs.
16.6K
Heuristics01:21

Heuristics

165
Heuristics are problem-solving strategies that use mental shortcuts to simplify decision-making. Unlike algorithms, which must be followed precisely to achieve a correct result, heuristics offer a general problem-solving framework. They save time and energy but can sometimes lead to less rational decisions.
People often rely on heuristics when faced with an overload of information, limited time, low importance of the decision, limited information, or when a heuristic readily comes to mind. For...
165

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Correction: Practice makes better? The influence of increased practice on task conflict in the Stroop task.

Memory & cognition·2025
Same author

Practice makes better? The influence of increased practice on task conflict in the Stroop task.

Memory & cognition·2025
Same author

Symbolic representations of infinity: the impact of notation and numerical syntax.

Psychological research·2024
Same author

Perceiving the "smallest" or "largest" multidigit number: A novel numeric-scale end effect.

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2024
Same author

Walking to a number: is there affective involvement in generating the SNARC effect in numerical cognition?

Frontiers in psychology·2024
Same author

Perceiving infinity: An interplay between numerical and physical magnitude.

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2023
Same journal

EXPRESS: Age-related Differences in Recognition Memory for Discourse: The Case of Modified Words, Competitors, and Related Lures.

Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006)·2026
Same journal

EXPRESS: Exaggerated Self-Referencing in Body Dysmorphic Disorder.

Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006)·2026
Same journal

EXPRESS: Post-Error Adjustments: The role of Response Stimulus Intervals and error placement.

Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006)·2026
Same journal

Mitigating the Low Prevalence Effect: Role of Removing Explicit "Target-Absent" Responses in Visual Search.

Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006)·2026
Same journal

Visual Selection Is Spatially Constrained During Working Memory Consolidation.

Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006)·2026
Same journal

Cross-Phoneme Generalisation of Dimension-Based Statistical Learning for Stop Voicing: Probing Subject Design and Word Frame Effects.

Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006)·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 11, 2025

Automatic Image Processing to Determine the Community Size Structure of Riverine Macroinvertebrates
08:56

Automatic Image Processing to Determine the Community Size Structure of Riverine Macroinvertebrates

Published on: January 13, 2023

2.5K

Sometimes nothing is simply nothing: Automatic processing of empty sets.

Yam Zagury1, Rut Zaks-Ohayon2,3, Joseph Tzelgov2,3,4

  • 1Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel.

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)
|November 30, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Empty sets are not perceived as zero during automatic processing. Instead, they are seen as "nothing," hindering the abstraction of numerical meaning for zero.

Keywords:
Empty setnonsymbolic numbersize congruity effectzero

More Related Videos

An Operant Intra-/Extra-dimensional Set-shift Task for Mice
08:35

An Operant Intra-/Extra-dimensional Set-shift Task for Mice

Published on: January 22, 2016

12.4K
The Attentional Set Shifting Task: A Measure of Cognitive Flexibility in Mice
09:15

The Attentional Set Shifting Task: A Measure of Cognitive Flexibility in Mice

Published on: February 4, 2015

27.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 11, 2025

Automatic Image Processing to Determine the Community Size Structure of Riverine Macroinvertebrates
08:56

Automatic Image Processing to Determine the Community Size Structure of Riverine Macroinvertebrates

Published on: January 13, 2023

2.5K
An Operant Intra-/Extra-dimensional Set-shift Task for Mice
08:35

An Operant Intra-/Extra-dimensional Set-shift Task for Mice

Published on: January 22, 2016

12.4K
The Attentional Set Shifting Task: A Measure of Cognitive Flexibility in Mice
09:15

The Attentional Set Shifting Task: A Measure of Cognitive Flexibility in Mice

Published on: February 4, 2015

27.7K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Numerical Cognition
  • Perception

Background:

  • Previous research suggests the empty set, representing zero, is the smallest quantity in numerical systems.
  • Automatic processing occurs when task demands do not require deliberate stimulus magnitude evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if empty sets are represented as the smallest quantity under automatic processing conditions.
  • To explore the perception of empty sets when numerical and physical attributes are manipulated.

Main Methods:

  • Experiment 1: Participants performed physical and numerical comparisons of empty sets versus non-empty sets (1-9 dots).
  • Experiment 2: An area comparison task assessed visual cue effects on automatic processing of empty sets.
  • Stimuli included empty frames and framed dot arrays with varying physical sizes.

Main Results:

  • A size congruity effect (SCE) was observed for non-empty sets in both physical and numerical comparisons.
  • Comparisons involving empty sets showed an inverted SCE in physical tasks and no SCE in numerical tasks.
  • Results replicated physical comparison findings, indicating visual cues influence empty set processing.

Conclusions:

  • Under automatic processing, empty sets are perceived as "nothing," not as the numerical value zero.
  • The perceptual salience of empty sets interferes with abstracting their numerical meaning.
  • Automatic processing conditions challenge the representation of empty sets as the smallest numerical quantity.