Mental number space in three dimensions

Winter, Bodo; Matlock, Teenie; Shaki, Samuel; Fischer, Martin H.

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.09.005

Cited by 155 publications

(141 citation statements)

References 132 publications

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“…Gilligan, Flouri, & Farran, ; Verdine et al., ). Despite reported associations between spatial and mathematical skills at both behavioural and neural levels (Cutini, Scarpa, Scatturin, Dell'Acqua, & Zorzi, ; Hubbard, Piazza, Pinel, & Dehaene, ; Winter, Matlock, Shaki, & Fischer, ), not all studies that have attempted transfer of spatial training gains to mathematics are successful (Cheng & Mix, ; Hawes, Moss, Caswell, Naqvi, & MacKinnon, ; Hawes, Moss, Caswell, & Poliszczuk, ; Lowrie, Logan, & Ramful, ). This might be attributable to the fact that spatial and mathematical thinking are often treated as unitary constructs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The developmental relations between spatial cognition and mathematics in primary school children

Gilligan

Hodgkiss

Thomas

et al. 2019

Developmental Science

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Spatial thinking is an important predictor of mathematics. However, existing data do not determine whether all spatial sub‐domains are equally important for mathematics outcomes nor whether mathematics–spatial associations vary through development. This study addresses these questions by exploring the developmental relations between mathematics and spatial skills in children aged 6–10 years (N = 155). We extend previous findings by assessing and comparing performance across Uttal et al.'s (2013), four spatial sub‐domains. Overall spatial skills explained 5%–14% of the variation across three mathematics performance measures (standardized mathematics skills, approximate number sense and number line estimation skills), beyond other known predictors of mathematics including vocabulary and gender. Spatial scaling (extrinsic‐static sub‐domain) was a significant predictor of all mathematics outcomes, across all ages, highlighting its importance for mathematics in middle childhood. Other spatial sub‐domains were differentially associated with mathematics in a task‐ and age‐dependent manner. Mental rotation (intrinsic‐dynamic skills) was a significant predictor of mathematics at 6 and 7 years only which suggests that at approximately 8 years of age there is a transition period regarding the spatial skills that are important for mathematics. Taken together, the results support the investigation of spatial training, particularly targeting spatial scaling, as a means of improving both spatial and mathematical thinking.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The developmental relations between spatial cognition and mathematics in primary school children

Gilligan

Hodgkiss

Thomas

et al. 2019

Developmental Science

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“…Moreover, the SNARC effect was also used as a measure of spatial representation of magnitude in a study investigating differences in spatial processing related to hormonal masculinization (Bull and Benson, 2006) or the differences in spatial mapping of numbers depending on cultural influences, namely the reading direction (Shaki et al, 2009). These empirical examples as well as a quantitative meta-analysis (Wood et al, 2008) and more recent reviews (Fischer and Shaki, 2014; Winter et al, 2015) on spatial-numerical associations point out the strength of such individual and group differences in the SNARC effect. The mechanisms responsible for these differences are still poorly understood and may require a refinement of the measurement strategies employed to design SNARC experiments targeting within and between subject comparisons.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Finding the SNARC Instead of Hunting It: A 20∗20 Monte Carlo Investigation

Cipora

Wood

2017

Front. Psychol.

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The Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect describes a stimulus-response association of left with small magnitude and right with large magnitude. Usually, it is estimated by means of regression slopes, where the independent variable only has a limited number of levels. Inspection of the literature reveals that it is not difficult to detect a SNARC effect within a group, but it has been quite unusual to find group differences. Is the SNARC effect as it is usually estimated using regression slopes largely insensitive to group differences, and are there design parameters necessary to increase sensitivity in group comparison analyses? Using numerical simulations, we provide evidence that both sample size and the number of stimulus repetitions, as well as intra-individual variability, contribute in a substantial way to the probability of detecting an existing SNARC effect. Our results show that the adequate choice of either sample size or number of repetitions per experimental cell does not fully compensate for a poor choice of the other parameter. Moreover, repeated failures to find significant group differences in the SNARC effect can be explained by insufficient power. Fortunately, increasing the number of repetitions to about 20 and testing at least 20 participants provides in most cases sufficient sensitivity to reliably detect the SNARC effect as well as group differences. Power plots are provided, which may help to improve both the economy and sensitivity of experimental design in future SNARC experiments, or, more generally when regression slopes are estimated intra-individually.

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“…• Numerical information can be associated with spatial extensions and with specific directions in space (e.g., left-to-right, bottom-to-top, or front-back 9 ).…”

Section: Multitude Of Spatial-numerical Associationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes effect and math skills: why related?

Cipora¹,

He²,

Nuerk³

2019

Preprint

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Evidence from multiple studies conducted in the past few decades converges on the conclusion that numerical properties can be associated with specific directions in space. Such Spatial-Numerical Associations (SNAs), as a signature of elementary number processing, seem to be a likely correlate of math skills. Nevertheless, almost three decades of research on the Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect, the hallmark of SNAs, has not provided conclusive results on whether there is a relation with math skills. Here, going beyond reviewing the existing literature on the topic, we try to answer a more fundamental question about WHY the SNARC effect should (and should not) be related to math skills. We propose a multi-route model framework for a SNARC-math skills relationship. We conclude that the relationship is not straightforward and that several other factors should be considered, which under certain circumstances or in certain groups, can cause effects of opposite directions. The model can account for conflicting results, and thus may be helpful for deriving predictions in future studies.

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Mental number space in three dimensions

Cited by 155 publications

References 132 publications

The developmental relations between spatial cognition and mathematics in primary school children

The developmental relations between spatial cognition and mathematics in primary school children

Finding the SNARC Instead of Hunting It: A 20∗20 Monte Carlo Investigation

The Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes effect and math skills: why related?

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