Faculty of Science, Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2020 Oct;1477(1):5-19. doi: 10.1111/nyas.14355. Epub 2020 Apr 29.
Evidence from multiple studies conducted in the past few decades converges on the conclusion that numerical properties can be associated with specific directions in space. Such spatial-numerical associations (SNAs), as a signature of elementary number processing, seem to be a likely correlate of math skills. Nevertheless, almost three decades of research on the spatial-numerical association of response codes (SNARC) effect, the hallmark of SNAs, has not provided conclusive results on whether there is a relation with math skills. Here, going beyond reviewing the existing literature on the topic, we try to answer a more fundamental question about why the SNARC effect should (and should not) be related to math skills. We propose a multiroute model framework for a SNARC-math skills relationship. We conclude that the relationship is not straightforward and that several other factors should be considered, which under certain circumstances or in certain groups can cause effects of opposite directions. The model can account for conflicting results, and thus may be helpful for deriving predictions in future studies.
过去几十年进行的多项研究都得出结论，数字属性可以与空间中的特定方向相关联。这种空间-数字关联（SNA）作为基本数字处理的特征，似乎是数学技能的一个可能相关因素。然而，对反应代码的空间-数字关联（SNARC）效应的研究已经进行了近三十年，这是 SNA 的标志，但仍然没有得出关于它与数学技能之间是否存在关系的明确结果。在这里，我们超越了对该主题现有文献的回顾，试图回答一个关于为什么 SNARC 效应应该（不应该）与数学技能相关的更基本的问题。我们提出了一个 SNARC-数学技能关系的多路径模型框架。我们得出的结论是，这种关系并不简单，还应该考虑其他几个因素，在某些情况下或某些群体中，这些因素可能会导致相反方向的影响。该模型可以解释相互矛盾的结果，因此可能有助于在未来的研究中得出预测。
