Visual Search Asymmetry Due to the Relative Magnitude Represented by Number Symbols.

Benjamin A Motz,Thomas A Busey,Richard W Prather,Robert L Goldstone

doi:10.3390/vision5030042

Benjamin A Motz, Thomas A Busey + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/vision5030042

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Abstract

In visual search tasks, physically large target stimuli are more easily identified among small distractors than are small targets among large distractors. The present study extends this finding by presenting preliminary evidence of a new search asymmetry: stimuli that symbolically represent larger magnitude are identified more easily among featurally equivalent distractors that represent smaller magnitude. Participants performed a visual search task using line-segment digits representing the numbers 2 and 5, and the numbers 6 and 9, as well as comparable non-numeric control stimuli. In three experiments, we found that search times are faster when the target is a digit that represents a larger magnitude than the distractor, although this pattern was not evident in one additional experiment. The results provide suggestive evidence that the magnitude of a number symbol can affect perceptual comparisons between number symbols, and that the semantic meaning of a target stimulus can systematically affect visual search.

Highlights

Neither a search asymmetry between flipped 6 and 9 stimuli (p = 0.332) nor between “b” and “d” stimuli (p = 0.214) was observed. While these null results do not provide positive confirmation of symbolic magnitude effects on visual search, they suggest that differences in search times observed in Experiment 1 cannot be explained by differences in the orientation or the frequency of natural occurrence of comparable stimuli
When the target stimulus symbolically represents a larger quantity than the distractors, participants can identify the presence of the target more than when the target is numerically smaller than the distractors
These results suggest that theasearch between finding symbolically largeease over of rejec formance when finding largerasymmetry target was not eliminated, and symbolically small digits stems from larger digits appearing more salient in visual search numerically smaller distractors is unlikely to independently influence search tasks. This observation is consistent with previous studies demonstrating improved performance. These results suggest that the search asymmetry between finding symb mance with physically larger targets, an effect that is maintained across a range of set sizes large over symbolically small digits stems from larger digits appearing more sa (e.g., [16])

Summary

Introduction

Mayan systems; [1,2]) For this reason, our abstraction of numerical quantities from number symbols requires us to learn mappings between symbolic digits and the numerosities that they represent. When trying to identify the physically larger of two number symbols (varying in font size), performance is facilitated when the physically larger digit is numerically larger (compared to when it is numerically smaller; [3,4,5]), consistent with the effect of redundant magnitude information on nonsymbolic numerical discrimination [6] This has become known as the size congruity effect

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