scholarly journals Spatializing Emotions Besides Magnitudes: Is There a Left-to-Right Valence or Intensity Mapping?

Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 775
Author(s):  
Giulia Prete
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Number Line ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Snarc Effect ◽  
Emotional Intensity ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Intensity Mapping ◽  
The Right ◽  
Parity Judgment

The Spatial–Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC), namely the automatic association between smaller numbers and left space and between larger numbers and right space, is often attributed to a Mental Number Line (MNL), in which magnitudes would be placed left-to-right. Previous studies have suggested that the MNL could be extended to emotional processing. In this study, participants were asked to carry out a parity judgment task (categorizing one to five digits as even or odd) and an emotional judgment task, in which emotional smilies were presented with four emotional expressions (very sad, sad, happy, very happy). Half of the sample was asked to categorize the emotional valence (positive or negative valence), the other half was asked to categorize the emotional intensity (lower or higher intensity). The results of the parity judgment task confirmed the expected SNARC effect. In the emotional judgment task, the performance of both subgroups was better for happy than for sad expressions. Importantly, a better performance was found only in the valence task for lower intensity stimuli categorized with the left hand and for higher intensity stimuli categorized with the right hand, but only for happy smilies. The present results show that neither emotional valence nor emotional intensity alone are spatialized left-to-right, suggesting that magnitudes and emotions are processed independently from one another, and that the mental representation of emotions could be more complex than the bi-dimentional left-to-right spatialization found for numbers.

Further Evidence that the SNARC Effect is Processed Along a Dual-Route Architecture

2006 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim Gevers ◽  
Elie Ratinckx ◽  
Wouter De Baene ◽  
Wim Fias
Keyword(s):  
Number Line ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Snarc Effect ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Intermediate Response ◽  
Dual Route ◽  
The Right ◽  
Hand Response ◽  
Processing Architecture

In a binary response setting, it has been frequently observed that small numbers are reacted to faster with the left hand and large numbers with the right hand (i. e., the SNARC-effect) which reflects the spatial left-right orientation of the mental number line ( Dehaene, Bossini, & Giraux, 1993 ). In line with the work of Keus and Schwarz (in press ), we investigated the locus of the conflict in the SNARC effect in a parity judgment task with the Arabic numerals 1, 2, 8, or 9. Differences between compatible (left-hand response to 1 or 2 and right-hand response to 8 and 9) and incompatible SNARC conditions (left-hand response to 8 or 9 and right-hand response to 1 or 2) were observed in the lateralized readiness potential (LRP) but not in the peak latency of the P300. In accordance with Keus and colleagues ( Keus, Jenks, & Schwarz, 2005 ), we argue that the locus of the conflict is situated at intermediate response-related stages. However, instead of adopting a single-route processing architecture, a dual route account is proposed as the underlying processing architecture explaining the SNARC effect.

The Universal SNARC Effect

2005 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans-Christoph Nuerk ◽  
Guilherme Wood ◽  
Klaus Willmes
Keyword(s):  
Arabic Numeral ◽  
Number Line ◽  
Snarc Effect ◽  
Auditory Presentation ◽  
Number Word ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Magnitude Representation ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Number Magnitude ◽  
The Right

Abstract. It is thought that number magnitude is represented in an abstract and amodal way on a left-to-right oriented mental number line. Major evidence for this idea has been provided by the SNARC effect ( Dehaene, Bossini, & Giraux, 1993 ): responses to relatively larger numbers are faster for the right hand, those to smaller numbers for the left hand, even when number magnitude is irrelevant. The SNARC effect has been used to index automatic access to a central semantic and amodal magnitude representation. However, this assumption of modality independence has never been tested and it remains uncertain if the SNARC effect exists in other modalities in a similar way as in the visual modality. We have examined this question by systematically varying modality/notation (auditory number word, visual Arabic numeral, visual number word, visual dice pattern) in a within-participant design. The SNARC effect was found consistently for all modality/notation conditions, including auditory presentation. The size of the SNARC effect in the auditory condition did not differ from the SNARC effect in any visual condition. We conclude that the SNARC effect is indeed a general index of a central semantic and amodal number magnitude representation.

scholarly journals Neurocognitive Effects of Preceding Facial Expressions on Perception of Subsequent Emotions

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin Ah Kim ◽  
Sang Hee Kim
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Emotional Intensity ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Intensity Rating ◽  
The Right

In everyday life, individuals successively and simultaneously encounter multiple stimuli that are emotionally incongruent. Emotional incongruence elicited by preceding stimuli may alter emotional experience with ongoing stimuli. However, the underlying neural mechanisms of the modulatory influence of preceding emotional stimuli on subsequent emotional processing remain unclear. In this study, we examined self-reported and neural responses to negative and neutral pictures whose emotional valence was incongruent with that of preceding images of facial expressions. Twenty-five healthy participants performed an emotional intensity rating task inside a brain scanner. Pictures of negative and neutral scenes appeared, each of which was preceded by a pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant facial expression to elicit a degree of emotional incongruence. Behavioral results showed that emotional incongruence based on preceding facial expressions did not influence ratings of subsequent pictures’ emotional intensity. On the other hand, neuroimaging results revealed greater activation of the right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) in response to pictures that were more emotionally incongruent with preceding facial expressions. The dmPFC had stronger functional connectivity with the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) during the presentation of negative pictures that followed pleasant facial expressions compared to those that followed unpleasant facial expressions. Interestingly, increased functional connectivity of the dmPFC was associated with the reduced modulatory influence of emotional incongruence on the experienced intensity of negative emotions. These results indicate that functional connectivity of the dmPFC contributes to the resolution of emotional incongruence, reducing the emotion modulation effect of preceding information on subsequent emotional processes.

EXPRESS: Is the attentional SNARC effect truly attentional? Using temporal order judgments to differentiate attention from response

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182110394
Author(s):  
Diana B. Galarraga ◽  
Jay Pratt ◽  
Brett A. Cochrane
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Order ◽  
Snarc Effect ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Temporal Order Judgement ◽  
The Right ◽  
Temporal Order Judgments

The spatial-numerical association of response codes (SNARC) effect reflects the phenomenon that low digits are responded to faster with the left hand and high digits with the right. Recently, a particular variant of the SNARC effect known as the attentional SNARC (which reflects that attention can be shifted in a similar manner) has had notable replicability issues. However, a potentially useful method for measuring it was revealed by Casarotti et al. (2007) using a temporal order judgement (TOJ) task. Accordingly, the present study evaluated whether Casarotti et al.’s results were reproducible by presenting a low (1) or high (9) digit prior to a TOJ task where participants had to indicate which of two peripherally presented targets appeared first (Experiment 1) or second (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, it was revealed that the findings of Casarotti et al.’s were indeed observable upon replication. In Experiment 2, when attention and response dimensions were put in opposition, the SNARC effect corresponded to the side of response rather than attention. Taken together, the present study confirms the robustness of the attentional SNARC in TOJ tasks, but that it is not likely due to shifts in attention.

scholarly journals The SNARC effect: A preregistered study on the interaction of horizontal,vertical, and sagittal spatial-numerical associations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Aleotti ◽  
Stefano Massaccesi ◽  
Konstantinos Priftis
Keyword(s):  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Number Line ◽  
Mental Number Line ◽  
Snarc Effect ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
The Right

Small numbers are processed faster through left-sided than right-sided responses, whereas large numbers are processed faster through right-sided than left-sided responses (i.e., the Spatial-numerical Association of Response Codes [SNARC] effect). This effect suggests that small numbers are represented on the left side of space, whereas large numbers are represented on the right side of space, along a mental number line. The SNARC effect has been widely investigated along the horizontal Cartesian axis (i.e., left-right). Aleotti et al. (2020), however, have shown that the SNARC effect could also be observed along the vertical (i.e., small numbers-down side vs. large numbers-up side) and the sagittal axis (i.e., small numbers-near side vs. large numbers-far side). Here, we investigated whether the three Cartesian axes could interact to elicit the SNARC effect. Participants were asked to decide whether a centrally presented Arabic digit was odd or even. Responses were collected through an ad hoc-made response box on which the SNARC effect could be compatible for one, two, or three Cartesian axes. The results showed that the higher the number of SNARC-compatible Cartesian axes, the stronger the SNARC effect. We suggest that numbers are represented in a three-dimensional number space defined by interacting Cartesian axes.

“1-2-3”: Is There a Temporal Number Line?

2008 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 143-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Müller ◽  
Wolf Schwarz
Keyword(s):  
Number Line ◽  
Congruity Effect ◽  
Snarc Effect ◽  
Numerical Magnitude ◽  
Response Hand ◽  
Semantic Congruity ◽  
Left Response ◽  
The Right ◽  
Semantic Congruity Effect

Abstract. Evidence suggests that numbers are intimately related to space ( Dehaene, Bossini, & Giraux, 1993 ; Hubbard, Piazza, Pinel, & Dehaene, 2005 ). Recently, Walsh (2003) suggested that numbers might also be closely related to time. To investigate this hypothesis we asked participants to compare two digits that were presented in a serial manner, i.e., one after another. Temporally ascending digit pairs (such as 2-3) were responded to faster than temporally descending pairs (3-2). This effect was, in turn, qualified by a local SNARC (spatial numerical association of response codes) effect and a local semantic congruity effect (SCE). Moreover, we observed a global numerical SCE only for temporally descending digit pairs. However, we did not observe a global SNARC effect, i.e., an interaction of numerical magnitude and the right/left response hand. We discuss our results in terms of overlearned forward-associations (“1-2-3”) as formed by our ubiquitous cognitive routines to count off objects or events.

Linkages between Number Concepts, Spatial Thinking, and Directionality of Writing: The SNARC Effect and the REVERSE SNARC Effect in English and Arabic Monoliterates, Biliterates, and Illiterate Arabic Speakers

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 165-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samar Zebian
Keyword(s):  
Number Line ◽  
Mental Number Line ◽  
Snarc Effect ◽  
Writing System ◽  
Cultural Artifact ◽  
Arabic Speakers ◽  
Association Response ◽  
Numeric Cognition ◽  
The Right ◽  
First Time

AbstractThe current investigations coordinate math cognition and cultural approaches to numeric thinking to examine the linkages between numeric and spatial processes, and how these linkages are modified by the cultural artifact of writing. Previous research in the adult numeric cognition literature has shown that English monoliterates have a spatialised mental number line which is oriented from left-to-right with smaller magnitudes associated with the left side of space and larger magnitudes are associated with the right side of space. These associations between number and space have been termed the Spatial Numeric Association Response Code Effect (SNARC effect, Dehaene, 1992). The current study investigates the spatial orientation of the mental number line in the following groups: English monoliterates, Arabic monoliterates who use only the right-left writing system, Arabic-English biliterates, and illiterate Arabic speakers who only read numerals. Current results indicate, for the first time, a Reverse SNARC effect for Arabic monoliterates, such that the mental number line had a right-to-left directionality. Furthermore, a weakened Reverse SNARC was observed for Arabic-English biliterates, and no effect was observed among Illiterate Arabic speakers. These findings are especially notable since left-right biases are neurologically supported and are observed in pre-literate children regardless of which writing system is used by adults. The broader implications of how cultural artifacts affect basic numeric cognition will be discussed.

scholarly journals The SNARC Effect in the Processing of Second-Language Number Words: Further Evidence for Strong Lexico-Semantic Connections

2008 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 444-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolien De Brauwer ◽  
Wouter Duyck ◽  
Marc Brysbaert
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Number Line ◽  
Snarc Effect ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Number Words ◽  
Number Magnitude ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Word Translation ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Semantic Mediation

We present new evidence that word translation involves semantic mediation. It has been shown that participants react faster to small numbers with their left hand and to large numbers with their right hand. This SNARC (spatial-numerical association of response codes) effect is due to the fact that in Western cultures the semantic number line is oriented from left (small) to right (large). We obtained a SNARC effect when participants had to indicate the parity of second-language (L2) number words, but not when they had to indicate whether L2 number words contained a particular sound. Crucially, the SNARC effect was also obtained in a translation verification task, indicating that this task involved the activation of number magnitude.

scholarly journals Activating the Right Hemisphere Through Left-Hand Muscle Contraction Improves Novel Metaphor Comprehension

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tala Noufi ◽  
Maor Zeev-Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Metaphor Comprehension ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Semantic Judgment ◽  
Metaphoric Language ◽  
Invasive Method ◽  
The Right

The neurotypical brain is characterized by left hemisphere lateralization for most language processing. However, the right hemisphere plays a crucial part when it is required to bring together seemingly unrelated concepts into meaningful expressions, such as in the case of novel metaphors (unfamiliar figurative expressions). The aim of the current study was to test whether it is possible to enhance novel metaphor comprehension through an easy, efficient, and non-invasive method – intentional contraction of the left hand’s muscles, to activate the motor and sensory areas in the contralateral hemisphere. One hundred eighteen neurotypical participants were asked to perform a semantic judgment task involving two-word expressions of four types: literal, conventional metaphors, novel metaphors, or unrelated, while squeezing a rubber ball with their right hand, left hand, or not at all. Results demonstrated that left-hand contraction improved novel metaphor comprehension, as participants were more accurate and quicker in judging them to be meaningful. The findings of the present work provide a simple and efficient method for boosting right hemisphere activation, which can be used to improve metaphoric language comprehension. This method can aid several populations in which right hemisphere function is not fully established, and who struggle with processing figurative language, such as adolescents and individuals on the autistic spectrum.

Further Evidence for a Spatial-Numerical Association in Children Before Formal Schooling

2014 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 323-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjam Ebersbach ◽  
Koen Luwel ◽  
Lieven Verschaffel
Keyword(s):  
Snarc Effect ◽  
Formal Schooling ◽  
Comparison Task ◽  
Magnitude Comparison ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Alternative Culture ◽  
Potential Alternative ◽  
The Right

Given the robust finding that number and space are associated systematically at least in school children and adults, it has been concluded that this association might be based on the frequent practice of reading or writing skills, which are usually consolidated by formal schooling. However, first studies contradict this assumption demonstrating that associations of “small” magnitudes with left space and of “large” magnitudes with right space exist already in preschoolers. The present study used a non-symbolic magnitude comparison task to examine whether kindergartners who have not yet been formally instructed in reading and writing show a SNARC effect, that is, whether they would respond more rapidly with the right hand to larger numbers and with the left hand to smaller numbers. This assumption was confirmed by the data. In view of further evidence for an association between number and space that evolves before children are proficient in reading and writing, the role of potential alternative culture-specific, individual, and universal foundations of this association is emphasized and discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document