Abstract
The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis of a complex encoding of numbers according to which each numerical processing requires a specific representational format for input. In three experiments, adult participants were given two numbers presented successively on screen through a self-presentation procedure after being asked to add, to subtract, or to compare them. We considered the self-presentation time of the first number as reflecting the complexity of the encoding for a given planned processing. In line with Dehaene’s triple-code model, self-presentation times were longer for additions and subtractions than for comparisons with two-digit numbers but longer for subtractions than for additions and comparisons with one-digit numbers. The implications of these results for different theories of number processing are discussed.
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Note—This article was accepted by the previous editorial team, when Colin M. MacLeod was Editor.
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Thevenot, C., Barrouillet, P. Encoding numbers: Behavioral evidence for processing-specific representations. Memory & Cognition 34, 938–948 (2006). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193439
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193439