%0 Journal Article
%T Comparative judgments of symbolic and non-symbolic stimuli yield different patterns of reaction times
%J Acta psychologica
%D 2013
%A Leibovich, Tali
%A Ashkenazi, Sarit
%A Rubinsten, Orly
%A Henik, Avishai
%V 144
%N 2
%P 308-315
%X Are different magnitudes, such as Arabic numerals, length and area, processed by the same system? Answering this question can shed light on the building blocks of our mathematical abilities. A shared representation theory suggested that discriminability of all magnitudes complies with Weber's law. The current work examined this suggestion. We employed comparative judgment tasks to investigate different types of comparisons - conceptual comparison of numbers, physical comparison of numbers and physical comparison of different shapes. We used 8 different size ratios and plotted reaction time as a function of these ratios. Our findings suggest that the relationship between discriminability and size ratio is not always linear, as previously suggested; rather, it is modulated by the type of comparison and the type of stimuli. Hence, we suggest that the representation of magnitude is not as rigid as previously suggested; it changes as a function of task demands and familiarity with the compared stimuli.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I Elsevier Publishing
%@ 0001-6918
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2013.07.010