The temporary nature of number—space interactions.

Abstract

It is commonly accepted that the mental representation and processing of number and of space are tightly linked. This is evident from studies showing relations between math ability and visuospatial skill. Also, math instruction and education rely strongly on visuospatial tools and strategies. The dominant explanation for these number-space interactions is that the mental representation of numbers takes the form of a mental number line with numbers positioned in ascending order according to our reading habits. A long-standing debate is whether the link between numbers and space can be considered as evidence for a spatial number representation in long-term semantic memory, or whether this spatial frame is a temporary representation that emerges in working memory (WM) during task execution. Here we give an overview of our recent work that indicates that basic number processing tasks do not operate on a long-term spatial memory representation, but on a representation constructed in serial order WM, where the elements are spatially coded as a function of their ordinal position in the memorized sequence.Implications for a new theoretical framework linking serial order WM and basic number processing are discussed.

A Minority pulls the sample mean: on the individual prevalence of robust group-level cognitive phenomena – the instance of the SNARC effect

“…This idea fits nicely with recent ideas suggesting that the SNARC effect is constructed online during task execution (in working memory) as a function of the specific set of stimuli used in the task (e.g. Abrahamse, van Dijck & Fias, 2018;Fias & van Dijck, 2016). Importantly however, this account should be extended to be able to account for the high individual variability in the way the task sets are mentally constructed and organized.…”

“…The SNARC effect is typically attributed to the spatial mental representation of numerical magnitude within a particular cultural and linguistic context (e.g., Dehaene et al, 1993;Shaki, Fischer, & Petrusic, 2009). Some nativist accounts have also been proposed (e.g., de Hevia, Veggiotti, Streri, & Bonn, 2017;Rugani, Vallortigara, Priftis, & Regolin, 2015) as well as ones based on conceptual coding (Gevers et al, 2010) or spatial coding in working memory (Fias & van Dijck, 2016). In this last view, small numbers would be mentally represented on the left part and large numbers on the right part of a visuo-spatial medium taking the form of a mental number line.…”

Automaticity in processing spatial-numerical associations: Evidence from a perceptual orientation judgment task of Arabic digits in frames

“…Second, for parity judgment tasks, the SNARC effect is modulated by the relative magnitudes within the tested interval [4]. Moreover, the working memory account posits that the SNARC effect is based on representations created in the serial order working memory [41,42]. For instance, van Dijck and Fias [42] asked participants to hold a randomly ordered number sequence in the working memory during a parity task, and found a SNARC effect for ordinal positions of the number sequence instead of a SNARC effect for absolute magnitudes.…”

On the Genesis of Spatial-Numerical Associations: Evolutionary and Cultural Factors Co- Construct the Mental Number Line

“…Contrary to the "common reading" and "manumerical cognition" theories of SNA development is the working memory (WM) account, which proposes that links between numbers and space emerge as a result of temporary position coding in working memory, rather than as a result of more stable, long-term associations (Abrahamse et al, 2016;Fias and Dijck, 2016;. Specifically, items in an ordered sequence are hypothesized to be indexed in WM during task execution; this positional coding then results in SNARC effects that reflect specific task constraints.…”