Numerically induced attentional biases in horizontal, vertical, and two-dimensional shapes

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Spatial Cognition

Background:

• Spatial-numerical associations (SNAs) are well-documented, primarily in horizontal space.
• Previous research indicates numerical magnitudes influence attentional biases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate SNAs across horizontal, vertical, and two-dimensional (2D) spaces.
• To examine how numerical magnitude (small vs. large numerals) affects spatial biases in different dimensions.

Main Methods:

• Participants identified the subjective center of visual stimuli (strings of Arabic numerals 1/2 or 8/9).
• Stimuli were presented horizontally, vertically, and in a 2D square format.
• Behavioral responses indicating subjective midpoint placement were recorded.

Main Results:

• Horizontal stimuli showed a leftward bias for smaller numbers, aligning with the left-to-right number line.
• Vertical stimuli exhibited an upward bias for smaller numbers, contradicting a bottom-to-top representation.
• 2D square stimuli with number strings showed stronger vertical biases, possibly due to object-based processing.

Conclusions:

• Spatial-numerical associations differ across dimensions, with horizontal and vertical representations showing distinct patterns.
• The observed upward bias in vertical and 2D stimuli may involve object-based processing rather than pure numerical cognition.
• Distinct cognitive mechanisms may underlie spatial-numerical associations in 2D environments.