Patterns of response times for enumeration, number comparison, addition and subtraction are different for symbolic and non-symbolic stimuli.
-
1
University of Melbourne, School of Psychological Sciences, Australia
Performance on basic number tasks for non symbolic stimuli is correlated with mathematical aptitude assessed using symbolic stimuli. If both symbolic stimuli and non-symbolic are encoded into a numerical representation that is accessed by a single mechanism for any given numeral task, then the pattern of response times across tasks should be similar for symbolic and non-symbolic stimuli. Here we compare response times for enumeration magnitude comparison, number addition and subtraction using identical symbolic and non-symbolic stimuli. On each trial, a central fixation marker was followed by a random dot array on each side (non-symbolic stimulus) or an Arabic numeral on each side (symbolic stimulus). 40 first year students completed the tasks using verbal responses (enumeration was performed on the display side indicated by an arrow near the fixation cross, and magnitude comparison was completed by verbally indicating left or right). We found differences in the response time patterns across tasks for symbolic and non-symbolic stimuli. Enumeration time was longer for non-symbolic than symbolic stimuli. However, magnitude comparison was similar for both symbolic and non-symbolic stimuli. Response times for addition on symbolic stimuli were longer and far more variable than for subtraction. Response times for addition on non-symbolic stimuli were longer for subtraction but the variability was similar for addition and subtraction. The different patterns of response times for symbolic and non-symbolic stimuli is inconsistent with the idea that there is a single representation of number encoded from symbolic and non-symbolic stimuli. It remains possible that symbolic and non-symbolic stimuli are represented separately but processed by a single pathway for enumeration, magnitude comparison, number addition or subtraction. Alternatively, numerical tasks may depend on independent pathways for symbolic and non-symbolic stimuli.
Keywords:
Reaction Time,
addition,
Enumeration,
subtraction,
magnitude comparison,
non-symbolic number,
Symbolic number
Conference:
XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 27 Jul - 31 Jul, 2014.
Presentation Type:
Poster
Topic:
Cognition and Executive Processes
Citation:
Forte
J and
Reeve
R
(2015). Patterns of response times for enumeration, number comparison, addition and subtraction are different for symbolic and non-symbolic stimuli..
Conference Abstract:
XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII).
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2015.217.00154
Copyright:
The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers.
They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters.
The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated.
Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed.
For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions.
Received:
19 Feb 2015;
Published Online:
24 Apr 2015.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Jason Forte, University of Melbourne, School of Psychological Sciences, Melbourne, Australia, jdf@unimelb.edu.au