Numerical and physical magnitudes are mapped into time

Abstract

In two experiments we investigated mapping of numerical and physical magnitudes with temporal order. Pairs of digits were presented sequentially for a size comparison task. An advantage for numbers presented in ascending order was found when participants were comparing the numbers' physical and numerical magnitudes. The effect was more robust for comparisons of physical size, as it was found using both select larger and select smaller instructions, while for numerical comparisons it was found only for select larger instructions. Varying both the digits' numerical and physical sizes resulted in a size congruity effect, indicating automatic processing of the irrelevant magnitude dimension. Temporal order and the congruency between numerical and physical magnitudes affected comparisons in an additive manner, thus suggesting that they affect different stages of the comparison process.