Hartmann Matthias, Gashaj Venera, Stahnke Antje, Mast Fred W
Department of Psychology.
J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 2014 Aug;40(4):1401-14. doi: 10.1037/a0036686. Epub 2014 Apr 21.
Recent research in cognitive sciences shows a growing interest in spatial-numerical associations. The horizontal SNARC (spatial-numerical association of response codes) effect is defined by faster left-sided responses to small numbers and faster right-sided responses to large numbers in a parity judgment task. In this study we investigated whether there is also a SNARC effect for upper and lower responses. The grounded cognition approach suggests that the universal experience of "more is up" serves as a robust frame of reference for vertical number representation. In line with this view, lower hand responses to small numbers were faster than to large numbers (Experiment 1). Interestingly, the vertical SNARC effect reversed when the lower responses were given by foot instead of the hand (Experiments 2, 3, and 4). We found faster upper (hand) responses to small numbers and faster lower (foot) responses to large numbers. Additional experiments showed that spatial factors cannot account for the reversal of the vertical SNARC effect (Experiments 4 and 5). Our results question the view of "more is up" as a robust frame of reference for spatial-numerical associations. We discuss our results within a hierarchical framework of numerical cognition and point to a possible link between effectors and number representation.
认知科学领域的最新研究表明，人们对空间数字关联的兴趣与日俱增。水平SNARC（反应编码的空间数字关联）效应的定义是，在奇偶判断任务中，对小数的左侧反应更快，对大数的右侧反应更快。在本研究中，我们调查了上下反应是否也存在SNARC效应。具身认知方法表明，“越多越高”这一普遍体验是垂直数字表征的一个强大参照框架。与这一观点一致的是，用手对小数的较低位置反应要比对大数的反应更快（实验1）。有趣的是，当较低位置反应由脚而非手做出时，垂直SNARC效应发生了逆转（实验2、3和4）。我们发现，用手对小数的较高位置反应更快，用脚对大数的较低位置反应更快。额外的实验表明，空间因素无法解释垂直SNARC效应的逆转（实验4和5）。我们的研究结果对“越多越高”作为空间数字关联的一个强大参照框架这一观点提出了质疑。我们在数字认知的层次框架内讨论了我们的研究结果，并指出了效应器与数字表征之间可能存在的联系。
