The SNARC Effect is Not a Unitary Phenomenon

Overview

Journal Psychon Bull Rev

Specialty Psychology

Date 2017 Dec 22

PMID 29264847

Citations 10

Authors

Sara Basso Moro

Roberto DellAcqua

Simone Cutini

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Models of the spatial-numerical association of response codes (SNARC) effect-faster responses to small numbers using left effectors, and the converse for large numbers-diverge substantially in localizing the root cause of this effect along the numbers' processing chain. One class of models ascribes the cause of the SNARC effect to the inherently spatial nature of the semantic representation of numerical magnitude. A different class of models ascribes the effect's cause to the processing dynamics taking place during response selection. To disentangle these opposing views, we devised a paradigm combining magnitude comparison and stimulus-response switching in order to monitor modulations of the SNARC effect while concurrently tapping both semantic and response-related processing stages. We observed that the SNARC effect varied nonlinearly as a function of both manipulated factors, a result that can hardly be reconciled with a unitary cause of the SNARC effect.

Citing Articles

On the functional independence of numerical acuity and visual working memory.

DellAcqua R, Sessa P, Brigadoi S, Gervain J, Luria R, Doro M Front Psychol. 2024; 15:1335857.

PMID: 38544511 PMC: 10965769. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1335857.

Probing the Dual-Route Model of the SNARC Effect by Orthogonalizing Processing Speed and Depth.

Didino D, Brandtner M, Glaser M, Knops A Exp Psychol. 2023; 70(1):1-13.

PMID: 37039504 PMC: 10388237. DOI: 10.1027/1618-3169/a000577.

Reinforcement learning profiles and negative symptoms across chronic and clinical high-risk phases of psychotic illness.

Spilka M, Raugh I, Berglund A, Visser K, Strauss G Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2022; 273(8):1747-1760.

PMID: 36477406 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-022-01528-z.

Processing stage flexibility of the SNARC effect: Task relevance or magnitude relevance?.

Xiang X, Yan L, Fu S, Nan W Front Psychol. 2022; 13:1022999.

PMID: 36438366 PMC: 9686333. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1022999.

Vertical versus horizontal Spatial-Numerical Associations (SNA): A processing advantage for the vertical dimension.

Greenacre L, Garcia J, Chan E, Howard S, Dyer A PLoS One. 2022; 17(8):e0262559.

PMID: 36006955 PMC: 9409557. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262559.

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