Comparative judgments of symbolic and non-symbolic stimuli yield different patterns of reaction times.
Are different magnitudes, such as Arabic numerals, length and area, processed by the same system? Answering this question can shed light on the building blocks of our mathematical abilities. A shared representation theory suggested that discriminability of all magnitudes complies with Weber's law. The current work examined this suggestion. We employed comparative judgment tasks to investigate different types of comparisons - conceptual comparison of numbers, physical comparison of numbers and physical comparison of different shapes. We used 8 different size ratios and plotted reaction time as a function of these ratios. Our findings suggest that the relationship between discriminability and size ratio is not always linear, as previously suggested; rather, it is modulated by the type of comparison and the type of stimuli. Hence, we suggest that the representation of magnitude is not as rigid as previously suggested; it changes as a function of task demands and familiarity with the compared stimuli.
Department of Cognitive Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel; Department of Psychology and the Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. Electronic address: labovich@post.bgu.ac.il.
Tali
T
Leibovich
Sarit
S
Ashkenazi
Orly
O
Rubinsten
Avishai
A
Henik
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D055641:Mathematical Concepts; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011930:Reaction Time; D021641:Recognition, Psychology
2300; 2340; Non-symbolic comparison; Numerical cognition; Ratio