TY - JOUR
T1 - Sometimes nothing is simply nothing
T2 - Automatic processing of empty sets
AU - Zagury, Yam
AU - Zaks-Ohayon, Rut
AU - Tzelgov, Joseph
AU - Pinhas, Michal
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Experimental Psychology Society 2021.
PY - 2022/10
Y1 - 2022/10
N2 - Previous work using the numerical comparison task has shown that an empty set, the nonsymbolic manifestation of zero, can be represented as the smallest quantity of the numerical magnitude system. In this study, we examined whether an empty set can be represented as such under conditions of automatic processing in which deliberate processing of stimuli magnitudes is not required by the task. In Experiment 1, participants performed physical and numerical comparisons of empty sets (i.e., empty frames) and of other numerosities presented as framed arrays of 1 to 9 dots. The physical sizes of the frames varied within pairs. Both tasks revealed a size congruity effect (SCE) for comparisons of non-empty sets. In contrast, comparisons to empty sets produced an inverted SCE in the physical comparison task, whereas no SCE was found for comparisons to empty sets in the numerical comparison task. In Experiment 2, participants performed an area comparison task using the same stimuli as Experiment 1 to examine the effect of visual cues on the automatic processing of empty sets. The results replicated the findings of the physical comparison task in Experiment 1. Taken together, our findings indicate that empty sets are not perceived as “zero,” but rather as “nothing,” when processed automatically. Hence, the perceptual dominance of empty sets seems to play a more important role under conditions of automatic processing, making it harder to abstract the numerical meaning of zero from empty sets.
AB - Previous work using the numerical comparison task has shown that an empty set, the nonsymbolic manifestation of zero, can be represented as the smallest quantity of the numerical magnitude system. In this study, we examined whether an empty set can be represented as such under conditions of automatic processing in which deliberate processing of stimuli magnitudes is not required by the task. In Experiment 1, participants performed physical and numerical comparisons of empty sets (i.e., empty frames) and of other numerosities presented as framed arrays of 1 to 9 dots. The physical sizes of the frames varied within pairs. Both tasks revealed a size congruity effect (SCE) for comparisons of non-empty sets. In contrast, comparisons to empty sets produced an inverted SCE in the physical comparison task, whereas no SCE was found for comparisons to empty sets in the numerical comparison task. In Experiment 2, participants performed an area comparison task using the same stimuli as Experiment 1 to examine the effect of visual cues on the automatic processing of empty sets. The results replicated the findings of the physical comparison task in Experiment 1. Taken together, our findings indicate that empty sets are not perceived as “zero,” but rather as “nothing,” when processed automatically. Hence, the perceptual dominance of empty sets seems to play a more important role under conditions of automatic processing, making it harder to abstract the numerical meaning of zero from empty sets.
KW - Empty set
KW - nonsymbolic number
KW - size congruity effect
KW - zero
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85122159529&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/17470218211066436
DO - 10.1177/17470218211066436
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AN - SCOPUS:85122159529
SN - 1747-0218
VL - 75
SP - 1810
EP - 1827
JO - Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
JF - Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
IS - 10
ER -