Abstract
Performance similarities on tasks requiring the processing of different domains of magnitude (e.g. time, numerosity, and length) have led to the suggestion that humans possess a common processing system for all domains of magnitude (Bueti and Walsh in Philos Trans R Soc B 364:1831–1840, 2009). In light of this, the current study examined whether Wearden’s (Timing Time Percept 3:223–245, 2015) model of the verbal estimation of duration could be applied to verbal estimates of numerosity and length. Students (n = 23) verbally estimated the duration, number, or physical length of items presented in visual displays. Analysis of the mean verbal estimates indicated the data were typical of that found in other studies. Analysis of the frequency of individual verbal estimates produced suggested that the verbal responses were highly quantized for duration and length: that is, only a small number of estimates were used. Responses were also quantized for number but to a lesser degree. The data were modelled using Wearden’s (2015) account of verbal estimation performance, which simulates quantization effects, and good fits could be obtained providing that stimulus durations were scaled as proportions (0.75, 1.06, and 0.92 for duration, number, and length, respectively) of their real magnitudes. The results suggest that despite previous reports of similarities in the processing of magnitude, there appear to be differences in the way in which the underlying representations of the magnitudes are scaled and then transformed into verbal outputs.
Highlights
Successful interaction with the world requires accurate estimation of quantity in the environment: how many, how big, and how long
Estimation of quantity is ubiquitous during daily life, little is known about how verbal estimation of quantity is accomplished
Around 10 values accounted for the vast majority of the estimates produced; the most frequent 10 estimates accounted for 83% and 78%, respectively, of all estimates for duration and length, but only 59% for number
Summary
Successful interaction with the world requires accurate estimation of quantity in the environment: how many, how big, and how long. Estimation of quantity is ubiquitous during daily life, little is known about how verbal estimation of quantity is accomplished (see Wearden, 2015, for discussion). This paper aims to further our understanding of how different domains of magnitude are estimated. In it we compare verbal estimates of numerosity, physical length, and duration and apply a recently developed model of verbal estimation of duration (Wearden, 2015) to the verbal estimation of numerosity and Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L33AF, UK 2 University of Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK 3 University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK physical length. We will establish whether there is support for a common processing system for magnitude estimation
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