In recent years, a growing amount of evidence concerning the relationships between numerical and spatial representations has been interpreted, by and large, in favour of the mental number line hypothesis--namely, the analogue continuum where numbers are spatially represented (Dehaene, 1992; Dehaene, Piazza, Pinel, & Cohen, 2003). This numerical representation is considered the core of number meaning and, accordingly, needs to be accessed whenever numbers are semantically processed. The present study explored, by means of a length reproduction task, whether besides the activation of lateralized spatial codes, numerical processing modulates the mental representation of a horizontal spatial extension. Mis-estimations of length induced by Arabic numbers are interpreted in terms of a cognitive illusion, according to which the elaboration of magnitude information brings about an expansion or compression of the mental representation of spatial extension. These results support the hypothesis that visuo-spatial resources are involved in the representation of numerical magnitude.

De Hevia, M., Girelli, L., Bricolo, E., Vallar, G. (2008). The representational space of numerical magnitude: Illusions of length. THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY, 61(10), 1496-1514 [10.1080/17470210701560674].

The representational space of numerical magnitude: Illusions of length

GIRELLI, LUISA;BRICOLO, EMANUELA;VALLAR, GIUSEPPE
2008

Abstract

In recent years, a growing amount of evidence concerning the relationships between numerical and spatial representations has been interpreted, by and large, in favour of the mental number line hypothesis--namely, the analogue continuum where numbers are spatially represented (Dehaene, 1992; Dehaene, Piazza, Pinel, & Cohen, 2003). This numerical representation is considered the core of number meaning and, accordingly, needs to be accessed whenever numbers are semantically processed. The present study explored, by means of a length reproduction task, whether besides the activation of lateralized spatial codes, numerical processing modulates the mental representation of a horizontal spatial extension. Mis-estimations of length induced by Arabic numbers are interpreted in terms of a cognitive illusion, according to which the elaboration of magnitude information brings about an expansion or compression of the mental representation of spatial extension. These results support the hypothesis that visuo-spatial resources are involved in the representation of numerical magnitude.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
numbers; numerical magnitude; illusions of length
English
2008
61
10
1496
1514
none
De Hevia, M., Girelli, L., Bricolo, E., Vallar, G. (2008). The representational space of numerical magnitude: Illusions of length. THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY, 61(10), 1496-1514 [10.1080/17470210701560674].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/5504
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