Stimulus-response compatibility in representational space

Spatial stimulus—response (S-R) compatibility designates the observation that speeded reactions to unilateral stimuli are faster for the hand ipsilateral than for the hand contralateral to the sensory hemifield containing the stimulus. In two experiments involving presentation of the numbers 1 to 11...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuropsychologia 1998-08, Vol.36 (8), p.731-735
Main Authors: Bächtold, Daniel, Baumüller, Martin, Brugger, Peter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Anatomical correlates of behavior
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
choice reaction time task
Cues
Functional Laterality - physiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Male
number processing
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Reaction Time - physiology
representational neglect
SNARC effect
Space Perception - physiology
Spatial S-R compatibility
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Summary:Spatial stimulus—response (S-R) compatibility designates the observation that speeded reactions to unilateral stimuli are faster for the hand ipsilateral than for the hand contralateral to the sensory hemifield containing the stimulus. In two experiments involving presentation of the numbers 1 to 11 in the center of the visual field we show (1) a left-hand reaction time (RT) advantage for numerals 6 for subjects who conceive of the numbers as distances on a ruler, and (2) a reversal of this RT advantage for subjects who conceive of them as hours on a clock face. While the results in the first task (RULER) replicate a robust finding from the neuropsychology of number processing (the ‘‘SNARC effect’’) those in the second task (CLOCK) show that extension of the number scale from left to right in representational space cannot be the decisive factor for the observed interaction between hand and number size. Taken together, the findings in the two tasks are best accounted for in terms of an interaction between lateralized mental representations and lateralized motor outputs (i.e. an analog of traditional spatial S-R compatibility effects in representational space). We discuss potential clinical applications of the two tasks in patients with neglect of representational space.
ISSN:0028-3932
1873-3514
DOI:10.1016/S0028-3932(98)00002-5