Counting is a spatial process: evidence from eye movements

Hartmann, Matthias; Mast, Fred W.; Fischer, Martin H. (2015). Counting is a spatial process: evidence from eye movements. Psychological research / Psychologische Forschung, 80(3), pp. 399-409. Springer 10.1007/s00426-015-0722-5

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Spatial-numerical associations (small numbers-left/lower space and large numbers-right/upper space) are regularly found in simple number categorization tasks. These associations were taken as evidence for a spatially oriented mental number line. However, the role of spatial-numerical associations during more complex number processing, such as counting or mental arithmetic is less clear. Here, we investigated whether counting is associated with a movement along the mental number line. Participants counted aloud upward or downward in steps of 3 for 45 s while looking at a blank screen. Gaze position during upward counting shifted rightward and upward, while the pattern for downward counting was less clear. Our results, therefore, confirm the hypothesis of a movement along the mental number line for addition. We conclude that space is not only used to represent number magnitudes but also to actively operate on numbers in more complex tasks such as counting, and that the eyes reflect this spatial mental operation.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

07 Faculty of Human Sciences > Institute of Psychology > Cognitive Psychology, Perception and Methodology

UniBE Contributor:

Maalouli-Hartmann, Matthias, Mast, Fred

Subjects:

100 Philosophy > 150 Psychology

ISSN:

0340-0727

Publisher:

Springer

Language:

English

Submitter:

Matthias Maalouli-Hartmann

Date Deposited:

02 May 2016 15:32

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 14:54

Publisher DOI:

10.1007/s00426-015-0722-5

PubMed ID:

26608732

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.80358

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/80358

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