Naparstek Sharon, Safadi Ziad, Lichtenstein-Vidne Limor, Henik Avishai
Department of Psychology.
Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Rochester Medical Center.
J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 2015 Jul;41(4):1262-8. doi: 10.1037/xlm0000067. Epub 2014 Oct 20.
The current research examined whether peripherally presented numerical information can affect the speed of number processing. In 2 experiments, participants were presented with a target matrix flanked by a distractor matrix and were asked to perform a comparative judgment (i.e., decide whether the target was larger or smaller than the reference 5). In Experiment 1, the target was symbolic (i.e., a single digit), and in Experiment 2, it was nonsymbolic (i.e., a random presentation of dots). In both experiments, flanker matrices had 2 dimensions-numerosity and numerical value-that were manipulated orthogonally to create stimulus congruent and stimulus incongruent conditions. Incongruent trials differed in the laterality between target and flanker (i.e., their location in relation to the reference 5). When responding to symbolic targets (Experiment 1), only the flanker's numerical value affected reaction times (RTs), whereas when responding to nonsymbolic targets (Experiment 2), only the flanker's numerosity affected RTs. In addition, the pattern of flanker interference differed between targets: For symbolic targets, laterality did not affect responses, whereas for nonsymbolic targets, laterality did affect responses. These results imply both symbolic and nonsymbolic magnitudes can be automatically activated; however, this activation is contingent upon their relevance to the task at hand. Implications of these results on the efficiency of the visual processing system and on numerical cognition are further discussed.
当前的研究考察了外周呈现的数字信息是否会影响数字处理的速度。在两个实验中，向参与者呈现一个被干扰矩阵包围的目标矩阵，并要求他们进行比较判断（即判断目标比参考数字5大还是小）。在实验1中，目标是符号性的（即一个一位数），在实验2中，目标是非符号性的（即随机呈现的点）。在两个实验中，侧翼矩阵有两个维度——数量和数值——这两个维度被正交操纵以创建刺激一致和刺激不一致的条件。不一致的试验在目标和侧翼的侧向性上有所不同（即它们相对于参考数字5的位置）。当对符号性目标做出反应时（实验1），只有侧翼的数值会影响反应时间（RTs），而当对非符号性目标做出反应时（实验2），只有侧翼的数量会影响RTs。此外，目标之间侧翼干扰的模式也有所不同：对于符号性目标，侧向性不会影响反应，而对于非符号性目标，侧向性会影响反应。这些结果表明，符号性和非符号性的大小都可以被自动激活；然而，这种激活取决于它们与手头任务的相关性。进一步讨论了这些结果对视觉处理系统效率和数字认知的影响。
