Hans-christoph Nuerk - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Hans-christoph Nuerk

Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 2011

A widely agreed method to assess children's spatial representation of number magnitude a... more A widely agreed method to assess children's spatial representation of number magnitude along an assumed mental number line is the so-called number line estimation task. In this task, children are required to indicate the position of a given number (eg, 37) upon a ( ...

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2013

ABSTRACT Finger-based numerical representations have gained increasing research interest. However... more ABSTRACT Finger-based numerical representations have gained increasing research interest. However, their description and assessment often refer to different numerical principles of ordinality, cardinality and 1-to-1 correspondence. Our aim was to investigate similarities and differences between these principles in finger-based numerical representations. Sixty-eight healthy adults performed ordinal finger counting, cardinal finger montring (showing the number of gestures) and finger-to-number mapping with twisted arms and fingers. We found that counting gestures and montring postures were identical for Number 10 but differed to varying degrees for other numbers. Interestingly, there was no systematic relation between finger-to-number mapping and ordinal finger counting habits. These data question the assumption of a unitary embodied finger-based numerical representation, but suggest that different finger-based representations co-exist and can be recruited flexibly depending on the numerical aspects to be conveyed.

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2015

Mathematics anxiety is negatively related to mathematics performance, thereby threatening the pro... more Mathematics anxiety is negatively related to mathematics performance, thereby threatening the professional success. Preoccupation with the emotional content of the stimuli may consume working memory resources, which may be reflected in decreased deactivation of areas associated with the default mode network (DMN) activated during self-referential and emotional processing. The common problem is that math anxiety is usually associated with poor math performance, so that any group differences are difficult to interpret. Here we compared the BOLD-response of 18 participants with high (HMAs) and 18 participants with low mathematics anxiety (LMAs) matched for their mathematical performance to two numerical tasks (number comparison, number bisection). During both tasks, we found stronger deactivation within the DMN in LMAs compared to HMAs, while BOLD-response in task-related activation areas did not differ between HMAs and LMAs. The difference in DMN deactivation between the HMA and LMA group was more pronounced in stimuli with additional requirement on inhibitory functions, but did not differ between number magnitude processing and arithmetic fact retrieval.

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2015

Previous studies that investigated the association of numbers and space in humans came to contrad... more Previous studies that investigated the association of numbers and space in humans came to contradictory conclusions about the spatial character of the mental number magnitude representation and about how it may be influenced by unilateral spatial neglect. The present study aimed to disentangle the debated influence of perceptual vs. representational aspects via explicit mapping of numbers onto space by applying the number line estimation paradigm with vertical orientation of stimulus lines. Thirtyfive acute right-brain damaged stroke patients (6 with neglect) were asked to place two-digit numbers on vertically oriented lines with 0 marked at the bottom and 100 at the top. In contrast to the expected, nearly linear mapping in the control patient group, patients with spatial neglect overestimated the position of numbers in the lower middle range. The results corroborate spatial characteristics of the number magnitude representation. In neglect patients, this representation seems to be biased towards the ipsilesional side, independent of the physical orientation of the task stimuli.

Basic numerical representations are seen as the building block for the successful development of ... more Basic numerical representations are seen as the building block for the successful development of more complex numerical and arithmetic competencies. Extending previous studies focusing on improving basic numerical representations by means of embodied training schemes, the current study focused on an embodied training of children's place-value understanding. In this vein, 49 secondgraders were trained on solving a number line estimation task by stepping on different fields of a dance mat allowing for separate estimations of tens and units with more effort needed to step on the tens. In a partially randomized cross-over design, two control conditions were used to controll for training effects caused exclusively by the numerical content trained or the use of the dance mat. Interestingly, results revealed specific training effects after both the embodied and the control conditions. However, training effects were significantly more pronounced after the embodied training, thereby prov...

Frontiers in psychology, 2015

The directionality of space-number association (SNA) is shaped by cultural experiences. It usuall... more The directionality of space-number association (SNA) is shaped by cultural experiences. It usually follows the culturally dominant reading direction. Smaller numbers are generally associated with the starting side for reading (left side in Western cultures), while larger numbers are associated with the right endpoint side. However, SNAs consistent with cultural reading directions are present before children can actually read and write. Therefore, these SNAs cannot only be shaped by the direction of children's own reading/writing behavior. We propose six distinct processes - one biological and five cultural/educational - underlying directional SNAs before formal reading acquisition: (i) Brain lateralization, (ii) Monitoring adult reading behavior, (iii) Pretend reading and writing, and rudimentary reading and writing skills, (iv) Dominant attentional directional preferences in a society, not directly related to reading direction, (v) Direct spatial-numerical learning, (vi) Other ...

Frontiers in psychology, 2014

The central representation of numerical cognition is commonly considered an abstract magnitude re... more The central representation of numerical cognition is commonly considered an abstract magnitude representation serving as one key precursor for higher mathematical thinking. However, recent research indicates that the representation might not be purely abstract. In fact, accumulating evidence suggests that numerical representations are rooted in and shaped by specific motor activities and sensory-bodily experiences and, therefore, are influenced by so-called embodied numerical representations. If we want to understand how numerical understanding develops, it is crucial to elucidate the basic cognitive tools with which we develop a sense of number. We argue that it is necessary to address this issue on both a behavioral and a neural level.

Frontiers in psychology, 2014

The last years of research on numerical development have provided evidence that spatial-numerical... more The last years of research on numerical development have provided evidence that spatial-numerical associations (SNA) can be formed independent of formal school training. However, most of these studies used various experimental paradigms that referred to slightly different aspects of number and space processing. This poses a question of whether all SNAs described in the developmental literature can be interpreted as a unitary construct, or whether they are rather examples of different, but related phenomena. Our review aims to provide a starting point for a systematic classification of SNA measures used from infancy to late preschool years, and their underlying representations. We propose to distinguish among four basic SNA categories: (i) cross-dimensional magnitude processing, (ii) associations between spatial and numerical intervals, (iii) associations between cardinalities and spatial directions, (iv) associations between ordinalities and spatial directions. Such systematization ...

Topics in cognitive science, 2013

Recently, an associative learning account of cognitive control has been suggested (Verguts & Note... more Recently, an associative learning account of cognitive control has been suggested (Verguts & Notebaert, 2009). In this so-called adaptation by binding theory, Hebbian learning of stimulus-stimulus and stimulus-response associations is assumed to drive the adaptation of human behavior. In this study, we evaluated the validity of the adaptation-by-binding account for the case of implicit learning of regularities within a stimulus set (i.e., the frequency of specific unit digit combinations in a two-digit number magnitude comparison task) and their association with a particular response. Our data indicated that participants indeed learned these regularities and adapted their behavior accordingly. In particular, influences of cognitive control were even able to override the numerical distance effect--one of the most robust effects in numerical cognition research. Thus, the general cognitive processes involved in two-digit number magnitude comparison seem much more complex than previousl...

Zeitschrift Fur Psychologie-journal of Psychology, 2011

Multi-digit number processing is ubiquitous in our everyday life – even in school, multi-digit nu... more Multi-digit number processing is ubiquitous in our everyday life – even in school, multi-digit numbers are computed from the first year onward. Yet, many problems children and adults have are about the relation of different digits (for instance with fractions, decimals, or carry effects in multi-digit addition). Cognitive research has mainly focused on single-digit processing, and there is no comprehensive

Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 2011

To process a multi-digit number its constituting digits need to be integrated into the place-valu... more To process a multi-digit number its constituting digits need to be integrated into the place-value structure of the Arabic number system. For two-digit numbers, processes of unit-decade integration are reflected by the compatibility effect in magnitude comparison. Recent research in adults indicated that the size of the compatibility effect increases when stimuli prevent to focus on the decade digits as

Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2014

Decimal fractions comply with the base-10 notational system of natural Arabic numbers. Neverthele... more Decimal fractions comply with the base-10 notational system of natural Arabic numbers. Nevertheless, recent research suggested that decimal fractions may be represented differently than natural numbers because two number processing effects (i.e., semantic interference and compatibility effects) differed in their size between decimal fractions and natural numbers. In the present study, we examined whether these differences indeed indicate that decimal fractions are represented differently from natural numbers. Therefore, we provided an alternative explanation for the semantic congruity effect, namely a string length congruity effect. Moreover, we suggest that the smaller compatibility effect for decimal fractions compared to natural numbers was driven by differences in processing strategy (sequential vs. parallel). To evaluate this claim, we manipulated the tenth and hundredth digits in a magnitude comparison task with participants' eye movements recorded, while the unit digits r...

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition, Jan 28, 2014

In this article, we propose and evaluate a new model framework of parallel componential multi-sym... more In this article, we propose and evaluate a new model framework of parallel componential multi-symbol number processing, generalizing the idea of parallel componential processing of multi-digit numbers to the case of negative numbers by considering the polarity signs similar to single digits. In a first step, we evaluated this account by defining and investigating a sign-decade compatibility effect for the comparison of positive and negative numbers, which extends the unit-decade compatibility effect in 2-digit number processing. Then, we evaluated whether the model is capable of accounting for previous findings in negative number processing. In a magnitude comparison task, in which participants had to single out the larger of 2 integers, we observed a reliable sign-decade compatibility effect with prolonged reaction times for incompatible (e.g., -97 vs. +53; in which the number with the larger decade digit has the smaller, i.e., negative polarity sign) as compared with sign-decade c...

Psychological research, Jan 14, 2014

Parity is important semantic information encoded by numbers. Interestingly, there are hand-based ... more Parity is important semantic information encoded by numbers. Interestingly, there are hand-based effects in parity judgment tasks: right-hand responses are faster for even and left-hand responses for odd numbers. As this effect was initially explained by the markedness of the words even vs. odd and right vs. left, it was denoted as the linguistic markedness of response codes (MARC) effect. In the present study, we investigated whether the MARC effect differs for right and left handers. We conducted a parity judgment task, in which right- and left-handed participants had to decide whether a presented single or two-digit number was odd or even by pressing a corresponding response key. We found that handedness modulated the MARC effect for unit digits. While we replicated a regular MARC effect for right handers, there was no evidence for a MARC effect for left handers. However, closer inspection revealed that the MARC effect in left handers depended on the degree of left-handedness wit...

Brain Research, 2011

Numerical processing involves either number magnitude processing, which has been related to spati... more Numerical processing involves either number magnitude processing, which has been related to spatial abilities and relies on superior parietal regions, or arithmetic fact retrieval, which has been related to verbal abilities and involves the inferior parietal lobule. Since men score better in spatial and women in verbal tasks, we assume that women have advantages in fact retrieval, while men have

Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 2011

ABSTRACT

Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 2014

It has been debated for several decades, whether number magnitudes are processed global/holistica... more It has been debated for several decades, whether number magnitudes are processed global/holistically (whole number magnitudes) or in a local/decomposed fashion (digit magnitudes). However, while it has been suggested that men attend stronger to the global level, while women attend stronger to the local level, the question has never been studied with regards to sex differences. In two-digit number comparison men should engage a more holistic processing strategy, while women should engage a more decomposed strategy. To test this hypothesis, we employed number comparison stimuli of varying decade crossing and unit-decade compatibility in men (n = 16) and women (n = 16) during their early follicular and mid-luteal cycle phase. In within-decade (WD) items both numbers had the same decade digits. Non-WD items were unitdecade-compatible, if the smaller number contained the smaller unit-digit and incompatible otherwise. In incompatible items the two local features require different responses. Thus, processing of the local level should result in a compatibility effect in RT and recruitment of differential neural networks for compatible and incompatible items. The results support the view of a holistic strategy in men and a decomposed strategy in women. In men RT and BOLD-response did not differ for incompatible compared to compatible items. Women respond slower to incompatible compared to compatible items. They show a BOLD-response compatibility effect in regions of the default mode network during their follicular phase and in prefrontal areas involved in inhibitory control during their luteal phase. Furthermore, lateralization indices interacted with decade crossing and menstrual cycle phase in a way consistent with the hypothesis of progesterone-mediated interhemispheric decoupling.

When participants are asked to decide which of a pair of two-digit Arabic numbers is larger, they... more When participants are asked to decide which of a pair of two-digit Arabic numbers is larger, they compare units and decades, even when units are irrelevant. Typically, behavioral responses are slower when units are incongruent with the decade comparison (e.g. 81 _ 26, because 8 > 2 but 1 < 6; unit -decade compatibility effect, . Decade breaks in the mental number line? Putting the tens and units back in different bins. Cognition 82, B25 -B33]). We defined parametric regressors to examine the effect of decade digit distance and unit distance-based compatibility processing on the fMRI signal to investigate the neural correlates of two-digit magnitude processing. Fourteen male right-handed volunteers (mean age = 27, range 21 -38 years) took part in the study. In a rapid event-related design, participants had to decide which of two two-digit Arabic numbers was larger. Data were preprocessed and analyzed statistically in SPM2. Activation in the anterior portion of the right IPS was significantly modulated by compatibility-based unit distance processing. Furthermore, decade distance predicted an increase in the fMRI signal from cortex around the left IPS, right anterior and right posterior IPS. These results indicate that magnitude representations of unit -decade compatibility and decade distance are subserved by the intraparietal cortex and that the symbolic structure of the Arabic number system is an important determinant of multi-digit number magnitude processing. Implications of the present results in terms of general symbolic information processing are discussed. D

Cognition, 2015

ABSTRACT Reading/writing direction or number word formation influence performance even in basic n... more ABSTRACT Reading/writing direction or number word formation influence performance even in basic numerical tasks such as magnitude comparison. However, so far the interaction of these language properties has not been evaluated systematically. In this study we tested English, German, Hebrew, and Arab participants realizing a natural 2×2 design of reading/writing direction (left-to-right vs. right-to-left) and number word formation (non-inverted vs. inverted, i.e., forty-seven vs. seven-and-forty). Symbolic number magnitude comparison was specifically influenced by the interaction of reading/writing direction and number word formation: participants from cultures where reading direction and the order of tens and units in number words are incongruent (i.e., German and Hebrew) exhibited more pronounced unit interference in place-value integration. A within-group comparison indicated that this effect was not due to differences in education. Thus, basic cultural differences in numerical cognition were driven by natural language variables and their specific combination. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 2011

A widely agreed method to assess children&#x27;s spatial representation of number magnitude a... more A widely agreed method to assess children&#x27;s spatial representation of number magnitude along an assumed mental number line is the so-called number line estimation task. In this task, children are required to indicate the position of a given number (eg, 37) upon a ( ...

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2013

ABSTRACT Finger-based numerical representations have gained increasing research interest. However... more ABSTRACT Finger-based numerical representations have gained increasing research interest. However, their description and assessment often refer to different numerical principles of ordinality, cardinality and 1-to-1 correspondence. Our aim was to investigate similarities and differences between these principles in finger-based numerical representations. Sixty-eight healthy adults performed ordinal finger counting, cardinal finger montring (showing the number of gestures) and finger-to-number mapping with twisted arms and fingers. We found that counting gestures and montring postures were identical for Number 10 but differed to varying degrees for other numbers. Interestingly, there was no systematic relation between finger-to-number mapping and ordinal finger counting habits. These data question the assumption of a unitary embodied finger-based numerical representation, but suggest that different finger-based representations co-exist and can be recruited flexibly depending on the numerical aspects to be conveyed.

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2015

Mathematics anxiety is negatively related to mathematics performance, thereby threatening the pro... more Mathematics anxiety is negatively related to mathematics performance, thereby threatening the professional success. Preoccupation with the emotional content of the stimuli may consume working memory resources, which may be reflected in decreased deactivation of areas associated with the default mode network (DMN) activated during self-referential and emotional processing. The common problem is that math anxiety is usually associated with poor math performance, so that any group differences are difficult to interpret. Here we compared the BOLD-response of 18 participants with high (HMAs) and 18 participants with low mathematics anxiety (LMAs) matched for their mathematical performance to two numerical tasks (number comparison, number bisection). During both tasks, we found stronger deactivation within the DMN in LMAs compared to HMAs, while BOLD-response in task-related activation areas did not differ between HMAs and LMAs. The difference in DMN deactivation between the HMA and LMA group was more pronounced in stimuli with additional requirement on inhibitory functions, but did not differ between number magnitude processing and arithmetic fact retrieval.

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2015

Previous studies that investigated the association of numbers and space in humans came to contrad... more Previous studies that investigated the association of numbers and space in humans came to contradictory conclusions about the spatial character of the mental number magnitude representation and about how it may be influenced by unilateral spatial neglect. The present study aimed to disentangle the debated influence of perceptual vs. representational aspects via explicit mapping of numbers onto space by applying the number line estimation paradigm with vertical orientation of stimulus lines. Thirtyfive acute right-brain damaged stroke patients (6 with neglect) were asked to place two-digit numbers on vertically oriented lines with 0 marked at the bottom and 100 at the top. In contrast to the expected, nearly linear mapping in the control patient group, patients with spatial neglect overestimated the position of numbers in the lower middle range. The results corroborate spatial characteristics of the number magnitude representation. In neglect patients, this representation seems to be biased towards the ipsilesional side, independent of the physical orientation of the task stimuli.

Basic numerical representations are seen as the building block for the successful development of ... more Basic numerical representations are seen as the building block for the successful development of more complex numerical and arithmetic competencies. Extending previous studies focusing on improving basic numerical representations by means of embodied training schemes, the current study focused on an embodied training of children's place-value understanding. In this vein, 49 secondgraders were trained on solving a number line estimation task by stepping on different fields of a dance mat allowing for separate estimations of tens and units with more effort needed to step on the tens. In a partially randomized cross-over design, two control conditions were used to controll for training effects caused exclusively by the numerical content trained or the use of the dance mat. Interestingly, results revealed specific training effects after both the embodied and the control conditions. However, training effects were significantly more pronounced after the embodied training, thereby prov...

Frontiers in psychology, 2015

The directionality of space-number association (SNA) is shaped by cultural experiences. It usuall... more The directionality of space-number association (SNA) is shaped by cultural experiences. It usually follows the culturally dominant reading direction. Smaller numbers are generally associated with the starting side for reading (left side in Western cultures), while larger numbers are associated with the right endpoint side. However, SNAs consistent with cultural reading directions are present before children can actually read and write. Therefore, these SNAs cannot only be shaped by the direction of children's own reading/writing behavior. We propose six distinct processes - one biological and five cultural/educational - underlying directional SNAs before formal reading acquisition: (i) Brain lateralization, (ii) Monitoring adult reading behavior, (iii) Pretend reading and writing, and rudimentary reading and writing skills, (iv) Dominant attentional directional preferences in a society, not directly related to reading direction, (v) Direct spatial-numerical learning, (vi) Other ...

Frontiers in psychology, 2014

The central representation of numerical cognition is commonly considered an abstract magnitude re... more The central representation of numerical cognition is commonly considered an abstract magnitude representation serving as one key precursor for higher mathematical thinking. However, recent research indicates that the representation might not be purely abstract. In fact, accumulating evidence suggests that numerical representations are rooted in and shaped by specific motor activities and sensory-bodily experiences and, therefore, are influenced by so-called embodied numerical representations. If we want to understand how numerical understanding develops, it is crucial to elucidate the basic cognitive tools with which we develop a sense of number. We argue that it is necessary to address this issue on both a behavioral and a neural level.

Frontiers in psychology, 2014

The last years of research on numerical development have provided evidence that spatial-numerical... more The last years of research on numerical development have provided evidence that spatial-numerical associations (SNA) can be formed independent of formal school training. However, most of these studies used various experimental paradigms that referred to slightly different aspects of number and space processing. This poses a question of whether all SNAs described in the developmental literature can be interpreted as a unitary construct, or whether they are rather examples of different, but related phenomena. Our review aims to provide a starting point for a systematic classification of SNA measures used from infancy to late preschool years, and their underlying representations. We propose to distinguish among four basic SNA categories: (i) cross-dimensional magnitude processing, (ii) associations between spatial and numerical intervals, (iii) associations between cardinalities and spatial directions, (iv) associations between ordinalities and spatial directions. Such systematization ...

Topics in cognitive science, 2013

Recently, an associative learning account of cognitive control has been suggested (Verguts & Note... more Recently, an associative learning account of cognitive control has been suggested (Verguts & Notebaert, 2009). In this so-called adaptation by binding theory, Hebbian learning of stimulus-stimulus and stimulus-response associations is assumed to drive the adaptation of human behavior. In this study, we evaluated the validity of the adaptation-by-binding account for the case of implicit learning of regularities within a stimulus set (i.e., the frequency of specific unit digit combinations in a two-digit number magnitude comparison task) and their association with a particular response. Our data indicated that participants indeed learned these regularities and adapted their behavior accordingly. In particular, influences of cognitive control were even able to override the numerical distance effect--one of the most robust effects in numerical cognition research. Thus, the general cognitive processes involved in two-digit number magnitude comparison seem much more complex than previousl...

Zeitschrift Fur Psychologie-journal of Psychology, 2011

Multi-digit number processing is ubiquitous in our everyday life – even in school, multi-digit nu... more Multi-digit number processing is ubiquitous in our everyday life – even in school, multi-digit numbers are computed from the first year onward. Yet, many problems children and adults have are about the relation of different digits (for instance with fractions, decimals, or carry effects in multi-digit addition). Cognitive research has mainly focused on single-digit processing, and there is no comprehensive

Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 2011

To process a multi-digit number its constituting digits need to be integrated into the place-valu... more To process a multi-digit number its constituting digits need to be integrated into the place-value structure of the Arabic number system. For two-digit numbers, processes of unit-decade integration are reflected by the compatibility effect in magnitude comparison. Recent research in adults indicated that the size of the compatibility effect increases when stimuli prevent to focus on the decade digits as

Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2014

Decimal fractions comply with the base-10 notational system of natural Arabic numbers. Neverthele... more Decimal fractions comply with the base-10 notational system of natural Arabic numbers. Nevertheless, recent research suggested that decimal fractions may be represented differently than natural numbers because two number processing effects (i.e., semantic interference and compatibility effects) differed in their size between decimal fractions and natural numbers. In the present study, we examined whether these differences indeed indicate that decimal fractions are represented differently from natural numbers. Therefore, we provided an alternative explanation for the semantic congruity effect, namely a string length congruity effect. Moreover, we suggest that the smaller compatibility effect for decimal fractions compared to natural numbers was driven by differences in processing strategy (sequential vs. parallel). To evaluate this claim, we manipulated the tenth and hundredth digits in a magnitude comparison task with participants' eye movements recorded, while the unit digits r...

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition, Jan 28, 2014

In this article, we propose and evaluate a new model framework of parallel componential multi-sym... more In this article, we propose and evaluate a new model framework of parallel componential multi-symbol number processing, generalizing the idea of parallel componential processing of multi-digit numbers to the case of negative numbers by considering the polarity signs similar to single digits. In a first step, we evaluated this account by defining and investigating a sign-decade compatibility effect for the comparison of positive and negative numbers, which extends the unit-decade compatibility effect in 2-digit number processing. Then, we evaluated whether the model is capable of accounting for previous findings in negative number processing. In a magnitude comparison task, in which participants had to single out the larger of 2 integers, we observed a reliable sign-decade compatibility effect with prolonged reaction times for incompatible (e.g., -97 vs. +53; in which the number with the larger decade digit has the smaller, i.e., negative polarity sign) as compared with sign-decade c...

Psychological research, Jan 14, 2014

Parity is important semantic information encoded by numbers. Interestingly, there are hand-based ... more Parity is important semantic information encoded by numbers. Interestingly, there are hand-based effects in parity judgment tasks: right-hand responses are faster for even and left-hand responses for odd numbers. As this effect was initially explained by the markedness of the words even vs. odd and right vs. left, it was denoted as the linguistic markedness of response codes (MARC) effect. In the present study, we investigated whether the MARC effect differs for right and left handers. We conducted a parity judgment task, in which right- and left-handed participants had to decide whether a presented single or two-digit number was odd or even by pressing a corresponding response key. We found that handedness modulated the MARC effect for unit digits. While we replicated a regular MARC effect for right handers, there was no evidence for a MARC effect for left handers. However, closer inspection revealed that the MARC effect in left handers depended on the degree of left-handedness wit...

Brain Research, 2011

Numerical processing involves either number magnitude processing, which has been related to spati... more Numerical processing involves either number magnitude processing, which has been related to spatial abilities and relies on superior parietal regions, or arithmetic fact retrieval, which has been related to verbal abilities and involves the inferior parietal lobule. Since men score better in spatial and women in verbal tasks, we assume that women have advantages in fact retrieval, while men have

Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 2011

ABSTRACT

Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 2014

It has been debated for several decades, whether number magnitudes are processed global/holistica... more It has been debated for several decades, whether number magnitudes are processed global/holistically (whole number magnitudes) or in a local/decomposed fashion (digit magnitudes). However, while it has been suggested that men attend stronger to the global level, while women attend stronger to the local level, the question has never been studied with regards to sex differences. In two-digit number comparison men should engage a more holistic processing strategy, while women should engage a more decomposed strategy. To test this hypothesis, we employed number comparison stimuli of varying decade crossing and unit-decade compatibility in men (n = 16) and women (n = 16) during their early follicular and mid-luteal cycle phase. In within-decade (WD) items both numbers had the same decade digits. Non-WD items were unitdecade-compatible, if the smaller number contained the smaller unit-digit and incompatible otherwise. In incompatible items the two local features require different responses. Thus, processing of the local level should result in a compatibility effect in RT and recruitment of differential neural networks for compatible and incompatible items. The results support the view of a holistic strategy in men and a decomposed strategy in women. In men RT and BOLD-response did not differ for incompatible compared to compatible items. Women respond slower to incompatible compared to compatible items. They show a BOLD-response compatibility effect in regions of the default mode network during their follicular phase and in prefrontal areas involved in inhibitory control during their luteal phase. Furthermore, lateralization indices interacted with decade crossing and menstrual cycle phase in a way consistent with the hypothesis of progesterone-mediated interhemispheric decoupling.

When participants are asked to decide which of a pair of two-digit Arabic numbers is larger, they... more When participants are asked to decide which of a pair of two-digit Arabic numbers is larger, they compare units and decades, even when units are irrelevant. Typically, behavioral responses are slower when units are incongruent with the decade comparison (e.g. 81 _ 26, because 8 > 2 but 1 < 6; unit -decade compatibility effect, . Decade breaks in the mental number line? Putting the tens and units back in different bins. Cognition 82, B25 -B33]). We defined parametric regressors to examine the effect of decade digit distance and unit distance-based compatibility processing on the fMRI signal to investigate the neural correlates of two-digit magnitude processing. Fourteen male right-handed volunteers (mean age = 27, range 21 -38 years) took part in the study. In a rapid event-related design, participants had to decide which of two two-digit Arabic numbers was larger. Data were preprocessed and analyzed statistically in SPM2. Activation in the anterior portion of the right IPS was significantly modulated by compatibility-based unit distance processing. Furthermore, decade distance predicted an increase in the fMRI signal from cortex around the left IPS, right anterior and right posterior IPS. These results indicate that magnitude representations of unit -decade compatibility and decade distance are subserved by the intraparietal cortex and that the symbolic structure of the Arabic number system is an important determinant of multi-digit number magnitude processing. Implications of the present results in terms of general symbolic information processing are discussed. D

Cognition, 2015

ABSTRACT Reading/writing direction or number word formation influence performance even in basic n... more ABSTRACT Reading/writing direction or number word formation influence performance even in basic numerical tasks such as magnitude comparison. However, so far the interaction of these language properties has not been evaluated systematically. In this study we tested English, German, Hebrew, and Arab participants realizing a natural 2×2 design of reading/writing direction (left-to-right vs. right-to-left) and number word formation (non-inverted vs. inverted, i.e., forty-seven vs. seven-and-forty). Symbolic number magnitude comparison was specifically influenced by the interaction of reading/writing direction and number word formation: participants from cultures where reading direction and the order of tens and units in number words are incongruent (i.e., German and Hebrew) exhibited more pronounced unit interference in place-value integration. A within-group comparison indicated that this effect was not due to differences in education. Thus, basic cultural differences in numerical cognition were driven by natural language variables and their specific combination. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.