Exploiting illusory effects to disclose similarities in numerical and luminance processing

Atten Percept Psychophys. 2012 Jul;74(5):1001-8. doi: 10.3758/s13414-012-0302-3.

Abstract

Recent studies have suggested that numerical and physical magnitudes are similarly processed by a generalized magnitude system. The present study investigates the number-luminance interaction, taking advantage of illusory effects in a cued line bisection task with numerical or nonnumerical flankers and varying levels of luminance. The results showed that both dimensions influenced bisection performance. Whereas numbers (Experiment 1) induced a systematic shift of the subjective midpoint toward the larger digit, luminance (Experiment 2) modulated the bisection performance toward the darker flanker. By combining these two illusions (Experiments 3 and 4), the two dimensions interfered with each other. This pattern of results suggests overlapping representations for physical and numerical magnitudes and highlights the value of illusory effects in cognitive research.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Contrast Sensitivity*
  • Cues
  • Discrimination, Psychological*
  • Distance Perception*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mathematics*
  • Optical Illusions*
  • Pattern Recognition, Visual*
  • Perceptual Distortion
  • Problem Solving*
  • Psychophysics
  • Size Perception*
  • Young Adult