Self-motion perception influences number processing: evidence from a parity task.
We investigated the role of horizontal body motion on the processing of numbers. We hypothesized that leftward self-motion leads to shifts in spatial attention and therefore facilitates the processing of small numbers, and vice versa, we expected that rightward self-motion facilitates the processing of large numbers. Participants were displaced by means of a motion platform during a parity judgment task. We found a systematic influence of self-motion direction on number processing, suggesting that the processing of numbers is intertwined with the processing of self-motion perception. The results differed from known spatial numerical compatibility effects in that self-motion exerted a differential influence on inner and outer numbers of the given interval. The results highlight the involvement of sensory body motion information in higher-order spatial cognition.
Department of Psychology, University of Bern, Muesmattstrasse 45, 3000, Bern, Switzerland. matthias.hartmann@psy.unibe.ch
Matthias
M
Hartmann
Réka
R
Farkas
Fred W
FW
Mast
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D009038:Motion; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012649:Self Concept; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult