Abstract
Interactions between the ways we process space, numbers and time may arise from shared and innate generic magnitude representations. Alternatively or concurrently, such interactions could be due to the use of physical magnitudes, like spatial extent, as metaphors for more abstract ones, like number and duration. That numbers might be spatially represented along a mental number line is suggested by the SNARC effect: faster left-side responses to small single digits, like 1 or 2, and faster right-side responses to large ones, like 8 or 9. Previously, we found that time estimation predicts mathematical intelligence and speculated that it may predict spatial ability too. Here, addressing this issue, we test—on a relatively large sample of adults and entirely within subjects—the relationships between (a) time: proficiency at producing and evaluating durations shorter than one second, (b) space: the ability to mentally rotate objects, (c) numbers: mathematical reasoning skills, and (d) space–number associations: the SNARC effect. Better time estimation was linked to greater mathematical intelligence and better spatial skills. Strikingly, however, stronger associations between space and numbers predicted worse mathematical intelligence and poorer time estimation.
Highlights
With the increasing importance of technology in our society comes an increasing demand for mathematical skills—and, in the hope of improving these, the need to better understand their psychological bases
85% had a spatial–numerical associations of response codes (SNARC) effect consistent with a left-to-right mental number line, and 15% a SNARC effect consistent with a right-to-left mental number line
The combination of |SNARC|, mental rotation ability and mathematical intelligence predicted 15% of the variance in time production error (R = 0.39, F3,146 = 8.75, p < 0.0001), with all three variables contributing to the overall effect (|SNARC|: β = 0.19, t = 2.48, p = 0.014; mental rotation ability: β = −0.17, t = −2.12, p = 0.036; mathematical intelligence: β = −0.20, t = −2.39, p = 0.018)
Summary
With the increasing importance of technology in our society comes an increasing demand for mathematical skills—and, in the hope of improving these, the need to better understand their psychological bases. Parity judgements of single digits, performed with Morse-code-like short and long responses, show a temporal–numerical association of response codes (TiNARC) effect: faster short responses to small single digits and faster long responses to large ones [8,9] Consistent with these behavioural findings on numerical, spatial and temporal interactions are remarkable neuropsychological ones. A substantial minority of those who read and write from left to right reveals, a SNARC effect that is consistent with a right-to-left mental number line This reversed SNARC is traditionally treated as an anti-SNARC; that is, as farther away from the regular SNARC than a SNARC effect of zero. We do analyse the SNARC effect, here we introduce and pay special attention to a version of it—the |SNARC| effect—that disregards the direction of the (presumed) underlying mental number line
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