Evidence for Direct Retrieval of Relative Quantity Information in a Quantity Judgment Task: Decimals, Integers, and the Role of Physical Similarity

Participants' reaction times (RTs) in numerical judgment tasks in which one must determine which of 2 numbers is greater generally follow a monotonically decreasing function of the numerical distance between the two presented numbers. Here, I present 3 experiments in which the relative influenc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition memory, and cognition, 2010-11, Vol.36 (6), p.1389-1398
Main Author: Cohen, Dale J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arithmetic
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition
Cognition & reasoning
Cognition. Intelligence
Cognitive Processes
Discrimination (Psychology) - physiology
Evidence
Experimental Psychology
Experiments
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Humans
Information processing
Information Retrieval
Judgment
Judgment - physiology
Learning
Male
Mathematics
Mathematics Education
Mathematics Instruction
Mental Recall - physiology
Miscellaneous
Neuropsychological Tests
Numbers
Numbers (Numerals)
Photic Stimulation - methods
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychophysics
Reaction Time
Reaction Time - physiology
Regression Analysis
Students
Task Analysis
Thinking Skills
Time Factors
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Summary:Participants' reaction times (RTs) in numerical judgment tasks in which one must determine which of 2 numbers is greater generally follow a monotonically decreasing function of the numerical distance between the two presented numbers. Here, I present 3 experiments in which the relative influences of numerical distance and physical similarity are assessed in just such a task using integers and decimals as stimuli. The data reveal that numerical distance is the primary feature controlling participants' RTs when integers are presented. However, the physical similarity between the decade place of the standard and the probe is the primary feature controlling participants' RTs when decimals are presented. I conclude that the unique qualities of decimals do not lend themselves to share the place-coding representation of integers, thus a direct retrieval mechanism for judging the relative quantity of decimals has developed. (Contains 4 tables, 5 figures and 5 footnotes.)
ISSN:0278-7393
1939-1285
DOI:10.1037/a0020212