Top-Down and Bottom-Up Attention Modulate Subitizing, Estimation, and Counting Through Static and Dynamic Strategies

The role of attention in three distinct forms of numerical processing (i.e., subitizing, estimation, and counting) has been extensively studied. However, the similarities and differences in the impacts of top-down and bottom-up attention on these three processes remain poorly understood. This gap raises key theoretical questions: Do individuals adopt a uniform cognitive strategy (i.e., a static strategy) across forms of numerical processing and types of attentional modulation? Do they dynamically adjust accuracy and/or precision for varying forms of numerical processing and/or different types of attentional modulation (i.e., a dynamic strategy)? Or do they exhibit greater flexibility by combining these two strategies, depending on specific effects of attentional modulation on numerical processing? Using a novel paradigm that incorporates counting with continuous attentional consumption, we identified a combination of static and dynamic strategies: A greater reliance on attention for processing precision of small numerosities is ubiquitous across numerical processing forms and attentional modulation types. However, an attention-driven transition effect occurs exclusively across forms of numerical processing, not types of attentional modulation. Additionally, attention modulation on central tendency effect differs across numerical processing forms and attentional modulation types. These results highlight the dynamic nature and flexibility of attentional modulation on numerical processing.