title: Response trajectories capture the continuous dynamics of the size congruity effect.
abstract: In a comparison task involving numbers, the size congruity effect refers to the general finding that responses are usually faster when there is a match between numerical size and physical size (e.g., 2-8) than when there is a mismatch (e.g., 2-8). In the present study, we used computer mouse tracking to test two competing models of the size congruity effect: an early interaction model, where interference occurs at an early representational stage, and a late interaction model, where interference occurs as dynamic competition between response options. In three experiments, we found that the curvature of responses for incongruent trials was greater than for congruent trials. In Experiment 2 we showed that this curvature effect was reliably modulated by the numerical distance between the two stimulus numbers, with large distance pairs exhibiting a larger curvature effect than small distance pairs. In Experiment 3 we demonstrated that the congruity effects persist into response execution. These findings indicate that incongruities between numerical and physical sizes are carried throughout the response process and result from competition between parallel and partially active response options, lending further support to a late interaction model of the size congruity effect.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, Tarleton State University, United States. Electronic address: faulkenberry@tarleton.edu.
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Faulkenberry
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ariel University, Israel.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cruise
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.
authors.forename: Dmitri
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lavro
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ariel University, Israel.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shaki
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055641:Mathematical Concepts; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012858:Size Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Computer mouse tracking; Numerical distance effect; Size congruity effect