Encoding numbers: behavioral evidence for processing-specific representations.
The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis of a complex encoding of numbers according to which each numerical processing requires a specific representational format for input In three experiments, adult participants were given two numbers presented successively on screen through a self-presentation procedure after being asked to add, to subtract, or to compare them. We considered the self-presentation time of the first number as reflecting the complexity of the encoding for a given planned processing. In line with Dehaene's triple-code model, self-presentation times were longer for additions and subtractions than for comparisons with two-digit numbers but longer for subtractions than for additions and comparisons with one-digit numbers. The implications of these results for different theories of number processing are discussed.
Thevenot
Catherine
C
University of Sussex, Brighton, England. catht@biols.susx.ac.uk
Barrouillet
Pierre
P
D003071:Cognition; D006801:Humans; D008433:Mathematics; D011340:Problem Solving; D012660:Semantics