Flexible spatial mapping of different notations of numbers in Chinese readers.
The spatial component of numerical and ordinal information has been explored in previous research. However, how such mapping emerges and how it is affected by the learning experience are issues still under debate. In the current study, we examined the orientation of the mental number line for different numerical notations (e.g., "1", "---", "[symbol: see text]") in Chinese readers. Our data demonstrated that Arabic numbers are mentally aligned horizontally with a left-to-right directionality, while Chinese number words are aligned vertically with a top-to-bottom directionality. These findings indicate that different notations of the same concept have flexible mappings within space, which is plausibly shaped by the dominant context in which the numerical notations appear.
Hung
Yi-hui
YH
Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, National Central University, Taoyuan 320, Taiwan, ROC; Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan, ROC. [corrected]
Hung
Daisy L
DL
Tzeng
Ovid J-L
OJ
Wu
Denise H
DH
D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008037:Linguistics; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D011930:Reaction Time; D011932:Reading; D013028:Space Perception