ABSTRACT

Previous studies have suggested that there is a left-to-right mental number line, which is based on individuals responding faster when a smaller magnitude is presented on the left visual field and a larger magnitude is presented on the right visual field. This study examined whether the Spatial-Numerical Associations could influence individuals’ responses in an inequality judgment task. Specifically, this study tested the differences in reaction time between judging inequalities with a greater than sign and inequalities with a less than sign and investigated individuals’ subjective liking and perceived fluency in judging these inequalities. Three types of stimuli were used in this study: Arabic number inequalities (numerical and symbolic magnitudes), dot array inequalities (numerical and non-symbolic magnitudes), and square inequalities (non-numerical magnitudes). Results showed that participants reacted quicker to inequalities with a greater than sign than a less than sign when responding to true inequalities in all of the three tasks and reported more subjective liking and perceived fluency in judging inequalities with a greater than sign in symbolic task. This study has implications for studies that are interested in Spatial-Numerical Associations and mathematical education.

摘要

以前的研究表明，存在从左到右的心理数轴，这是基于个体在左侧视野中呈现较小幅度而在右侧视野中呈现较大幅度时反应更快。本研究检验了空间-数值关联是否会影响个体在不平等判断任务中的反应。具体而言，本研究测试了判断大于号的不等式和小于号的不等式之间的反应时间差异，并调查了个人在判断这些不等式时的主观喜好和感知流畅性。本研究使用了三种类型的刺激：阿拉伯数字不等式（数字和符号幅度）、点阵不等式（数字和非符号幅度）、和平方不等式（非数值大小）。结果表明，当参与者在所有三项任务中对真正的不平等做出反应时，参与者对大于号的不平等反应比小于小于号的不平等反应更快，并且在判断象征性任务中大于号的不平等时表现出更多的主观喜好和感知的流畅性。这项研究对空间数值关联和数学教育感兴趣的研究具有意义。