Social Science Department, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Psychon Bull Rev. 2012 Feb;19(1):93-100. doi: 10.3758/s13423-011-0175-9.
The study of numerical magnitude processing provides a unique opportunity to examine interactions between phylogenetically ancient systems of semantic representations and those that are the product of enculturation. While nonsymbolic representations of numerical magnitude are processed similarly by humans and nonhuman animals, symbolic representations of numerical magnitude (e.g., Hindu-Arabic numerals) are culturally invented symbols that are uniquely human. Here, we report a comparison of symbolic and nonsymbolic numerical magnitude processing in two groups of participants who differ substantially in their level of literacy. In this study, level of literacy is used as an index of level of school-based numeracy skill. The data from these groups demonstrate that while the processing of nonsymbolic numerical magnitude (numerical distance effect) is unaffected by an individual's level of literacy, the processing of Hindu-Arabic numerals differs between literate and illiterate individuals who live in a literature culture and have limited symbolic recognition skills. These findings reveal that nonsymbolic numerical magnitude processing is unaffected by enculturation, while the processing of numerical symbols is modulated by literacy.
数值大小处理的研究为考察语义表示的系统与文化产物之间的相互作用提供了独特的机会。虽然人类和非人类动物对数值大小的非符号表示的处理方式相似，但数值大小的符号表示（例如，印度-阿拉伯数字）是文化发明的独特人类符号。在这里，我们报告了两组参与者在符号和非符号数值大小处理方面的比较，这两组参与者在文化程度上有很大的差异。在这项研究中，文化程度被用作基于学校的数学技能水平的指标。这些组的数据表明，虽然非符号数值大小（数值距离效应）的处理不受个体文化程度的影响，但在生活在文学文化中且符号识别技能有限的文化人和文盲个体中，印度-阿拉伯数字的处理方式有所不同。这些发现表明，非符号数值大小处理不受文化的影响，而数值符号的处理则受到文化程度的调节。
