TY - JOUR
T1 - Perceiving the “Smallest” or “Largest” Multidigit Number
T2 - A Novel Numeric-Scale End Effect
AU - Lozin, Mariya
AU - Pinhas, Michal
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 American Psychological Association
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - The ability to recognize the smallest/largest objects or numbers in our environment is an essential cognitive skill, however, little is known about perceiving multidigit numbers as end-values. The present study examined end effects in multidigit numbers and whether such effects are impacted by number length, which captures the numeric scale (e.g., 10’s, 100’s). Across four experiments (N = 120, 100, 80, and 120, respectively), participants performed three types of numerical comparisons: same-scale comparisons between end-values and nonend-values (e.g., 100 vs. 200), different-scale comparisons between end-values and nonend-values (e.g., 1,000 vs. 200), and same-scale comparisons of nonend-values (e.g., 300 vs. 200). The type of the end-value (i.e., lower/upper) and overall numerical range used in each experiment varied. The results revealed: (a) a novel numeric-scale end effect, characterized by a relatively small end effect for comparisons between nonend-values and end-values from an adjacent numeric scale, and a larger, consistently sized end effect for comparisons between nonend-values and end-values from nonadjacent numeric scales (≥2 scales), (b) absent or weak end effects in same-scale multidigit number comparisons, and (c) replication of the lower end effect for single-digit comparisons to the end-value 1. These results reveal differential processing of numbers from adjacent versus nonadjacent numeric scales. We rule out a psychophysical explanation for our findings and instead provide a syntactic explanation based on the perceptual dominance of the numeric-scale component and the way it manifests in the counting process. We conclude that a number’s scale plays a crucial role in evaluating multidigit number magnitude.
AB - The ability to recognize the smallest/largest objects or numbers in our environment is an essential cognitive skill, however, little is known about perceiving multidigit numbers as end-values. The present study examined end effects in multidigit numbers and whether such effects are impacted by number length, which captures the numeric scale (e.g., 10’s, 100’s). Across four experiments (N = 120, 100, 80, and 120, respectively), participants performed three types of numerical comparisons: same-scale comparisons between end-values and nonend-values (e.g., 100 vs. 200), different-scale comparisons between end-values and nonend-values (e.g., 1,000 vs. 200), and same-scale comparisons of nonend-values (e.g., 300 vs. 200). The type of the end-value (i.e., lower/upper) and overall numerical range used in each experiment varied. The results revealed: (a) a novel numeric-scale end effect, characterized by a relatively small end effect for comparisons between nonend-values and end-values from an adjacent numeric scale, and a larger, consistently sized end effect for comparisons between nonend-values and end-values from nonadjacent numeric scales (≥2 scales), (b) absent or weak end effects in same-scale multidigit number comparisons, and (c) replication of the lower end effect for single-digit comparisons to the end-value 1. These results reveal differential processing of numbers from adjacent versus nonadjacent numeric scales. We rule out a psychophysical explanation for our findings and instead provide a syntactic explanation based on the perceptual dominance of the numeric-scale component and the way it manifests in the counting process. We conclude that a number’s scale plays a crucial role in evaluating multidigit number magnitude.
KW - end effect
KW - multidigit numbers
KW - number magnitude
KW - numerical comparisons
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85205353629&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1037/xlm0001386
DO - 10.1037/xlm0001386
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AN - SCOPUS:85205353629
SN - 0278-7393
JO - Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition
JF - Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition
ER -