Numbers play a crucial role in our everyday life. Therefore, it is important to understand the basic cognitive processes underlying number processing. One of the most universal aspects of number processing is Spatial-Numerical Associations (SNA).

SNAs are a heterogeneous family of phenomena, which share few features in common. Numbers covey different types of information (cardinality, e.g., five bikes; ordinality, e.g., the fifth bike; parity: odd vs. even; etc.) and all these types of information can be associated with aspects of space (extensions, e.g., occupied area; directions, e.g., left vs. right; etc.).

The SNARC (Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes; Dehaene et al., 1993) effect is the hallmark directional SNA effect. It denotes the observation that in left-to-right reading cultures, responses to small numbers are faster with the left and responses to large numbers are faster with the right.

In this research project, we aim to answer the following questions:

How automatic is the SNARC effect?

How task (in)dependent is the SNARC effect?

How context (in)dependent is the SNARC effect?

References

Cipora, K., Haman, M., Domahs, F., & Nuerk, H.-C. (2020). Editorial: On the Development of Space-Number Relations: Linguistic and Cognitive Determinants, Influences, and Associations. Frontiers in Psychology, 11:182. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00182

Dehaene, S., Bossini, S., & Giraux, P. (1993). The mental representation of parity and number magnitude. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 122(3), 371–396. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.122.3.371

Toomarian, E. Y., & Hubbard, E. M. (2018). On the Genesis of Spatial-Numerical Associations: Evolutionary and Cultural Factors Co-Construct the Mental Number Line. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 90, 184–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.04.010