TY - JOUR A1 - Festman, Yariv A1 - Adam, Jos J. A1 - Pratt, Jay A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Continuous hand movement induces a far-hand bias in attentional priority JF - Attention, perception, & psychophysics : AP&P ; a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc. N2 - Previous research on the interaction between manual action and visual perception has focused on discrete movements or static postures and discovered better performance near the hands (the near-hand effect). However, in everyday behaviors, the hands are usually moving continuously between possible targets. Therefore, the current study explored the effects of continuous hand motion on the allocation of visual attention. Eleven healthy adults performed a visual discrimination task during cyclical concealed hand movements underneath a display. Both the current hand position and its movement direction systematically contributed to participants' visual sensitivity. Discrimination performance increased substantially when the hand was distant from but moving toward the visual probe location (a far-hand effect). Implications of this novel observation are discussed. KW - Embodied perception KW - Attention: Selective KW - Goal-directed movements Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-013-0430-4 SN - 1943-3921 VL - 75 IS - 4 SP - 644 EP - 649 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - INPR A1 - Caligiore, Daniele A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Vision, action and language unified through embodiment T2 - Psychological research : an international journal of perception, attention, memory, and action Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-012-0417-0 SN - 0340-0727 VL - 77 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 6 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tschentscher, Nadja A1 - Hauk, Olaf A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Pulvermüller, Friedemann T1 - You can count on the motor cortex finger counting habits modulate motor cortex activation evoked by numbers JF - NeuroImage : a journal of brain function N2 - The embodied cognition framework suggests that neural systems for perception and action are engaged during higher cognitive processes. In an event-related fMRI study, we tested this claim for the abstract domain of numerical symbol processing: is the human cortical motor system part of the representation of numbers, and is organization of numerical knowledge influenced by individual finger counting habits? Developmental studies suggest a link between numerals and finger counting habits due to the acquisition of numerical skills through finger counting in childhood. In the present study, digits 1 to 9 and the corresponding number words were presented visually to adults with different finger counting habits, i.e. left- and right-starters who reported that they usually start counting small numbers with their left and right hand, respectively. Despite the absence of overt hand movements, the hemisphere contralateral to the hand used for counting small numbers was activated when small numbers were presented. The correspondence between finger counting habits and hemispheric motor activation is consistent with an intrinsic functional link between finger counting and number processing. KW - Embodied cognition KW - Numerical cognaion KW - Finger counting habits KW - SNARC effect Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.11.037 SN - 1053-8119 VL - 59 IS - 4 SP - 3139 EP - 3148 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Reading space into numbers: an update T2 - Cognitive processing : international quarterly of cognitive science Y1 - 2014 SN - 1612-4782 SN - 1612-4790 VL - 15 IS - 1 SP - S21 EP - S21 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Sixtus, Elena A1 - Lindemann, Oliver A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - The flexibility of finger-based magnitude representations T2 - Cognitive processing : international quarterly of cognitive science Y1 - 2014 SN - 1612-4782 SN - 1612-4790 VL - 15 IS - 1 SP - S68 EP - S69 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - INPR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Spatial biases in mental arithmetic T2 - The quarterly journal of experimental psychology Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2014.927516 SN - 1747-0218 SN - 1747-0226 VL - 67 IS - 8 SP - 1457 EP - 1460 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Spatial associations in numerical cognition-From single digits to arithmetic JF - The quarterly journal of experimental psychology N2 - The literature on spatial associations during number processing is dominated by the SNARC (spatial-numerical association of response codes) effect. We describe spatial biases found for single digits and pairs of numbers, first in the "original" speeded parity task and then extending the scope to encompass different tasks, a range of measures, and various populations. Then we review theoretical accounts before surveying the emerging evidence for similar spatial associations during mental arithmetic. We conclude that the mental number line hypothesis and an embodied approach are useful frameworks for further studies. KW - Embodied cognition KW - Mental arithmetic KW - Numerical cognition KW - Operational momentum KW - Spatial-numerical association of response codes KW - SNARC Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2014.927515 SN - 1747-0218 SN - 1747-0226 VL - 67 IS - 8 SP - 1461 EP - 1483 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pinhas, Michal A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Heed the signs: Operation signs have spatial associations JF - The quarterly journal of experimental psychology N2 - Mental arithmetic shows systematic spatial biases. The association between numbers and space is well documented, but it is unknown whether arithmetic operation signs also have spatial associations and whether or not they contribute to spatial biases found in arithmetic. Adult participants classified plus and minus signs with left and right button presses under two counterbalanced response rules. Results from two experiments showed that spatially congruent responses (i.e., right-side responses for the plus sign and left-side responses for the minus sign) were responded to faster than spatially incongruent ones (i.e., left-side responses for the plus sign and right-side responses for the minus sign). We also report correlations between this novel operation sign spatial association (OSSA) effect and other spatial biases in number processing. In a control experiment with no explicit processing requirements for the operation signs there were no sign-related spatial biases. Overall, the results suggest that (a) arithmetic operation signs can evoke spatial associations (OSSA), (b) experience with arithmetic operations probably underlies the OSSA, and (c) the OSSA only partially contributes to spatial biases in arithmetic. KW - Mental arithmetic KW - Mental number line KW - Operational momentum KW - Pointing KW - Spatial-numerical association of response codes effect Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2014.892516 SN - 1747-0218 SN - 1747-0226 VL - 67 IS - 8 SP - 1527 EP - 1540 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Adam, Jos J. A1 - Bovend'Eerdt, Thamar J. H. A1 - van Dooren, Fleur E. P. A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Pratt, Jay T1 - The closer the better hand proximity dynamically affects letter recognition accuracy JF - Attention, perception, & psychophysics : AP&P ; a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc. N2 - A growing literature has suggested that processing of visual information presented near the hands is facilitated. In this study, we investigated whether the near-hands superiority effect also occurs with the hands moving. In two experiments, participants performed a cyclical bimanual movement task requiring concurrent visual identification of briefly presented letters. For both the static and dynamic hand conditions, the results showed improved letter recognition performance with the hands closer to the stimuli. The finding that the encoding advantage for near-hand stimuli also occurred with the hands moving suggests that the effect is regulated in real time, in accordance with the concept of a bimodal neural system that dynamically updates hand position in external space. KW - Perception and action Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-012-0339-3 SN - 1943-3921 VL - 74 IS - 7 SP - 1533 EP - 1538 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Hartmann, Matthias T1 - Pushing forward in embodied cognition: may we mouse the mathematical mind? JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - Freely available software has popularized "mousetracking" to study cognitive processing; this involves the on-line recording of cursor positions while participants move a computer mouse to indicate their choice. Movement trajectories of the cursor can then be reconstructed off-line to assess the efficiency of responding in time and across space. Here we focus on the process of selecting among alternative numerical responses. Several studies have recently measured the mathematical mind with cursor movements while people decided about number magnitude or parity, computed sums or differences, or simply located numbers on a number line. After some general methodological considerations about mouse tracking we discuss several conceptual concerns that become particularly evident when "mousing" the mathematical mind. KW - mousetracking KW - numerical cognition KW - SNARC effect KW - trajectories KW - on-line processing Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01315 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 5 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - INPR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Removing spatial responses reveals spatial concepts even in a culture with mixed reading habits T2 - Frontiers in human neuroscienc KW - cross-cultural KW - random number generation KW - mental number line KW - embodied numerical cognition KW - automatic processing Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00966 SN - 1662-5161 VL - 8 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - INPR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Knops, Andre T1 - Attentional cueing in numerical cognition T2 - Frontiers in psychology KW - attention KW - number line KW - SNARC effect KW - visual perception KW - response selection Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01381 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 5 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - INPR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Two steps to space for numbers T2 - Frontiers in psychology KW - spatial-nunmerical association KW - SNARC KW - mental number line KW - numerical cognition KW - spatial cognition Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00612 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 6 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - INPR A1 - Lindemann, Oliver A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Embodied number processing T2 - Journal of cognitive psychology Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2015.1032295 SN - 2044-5911 SN - 2044-592X VL - 27 IS - 4 SP - 381 EP - 387 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wasner, Mirjam A1 - Möller, Korbinian A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Nuerk, Hans-Christoph T1 - Related but not the same: Ordinality, cardinality and 1-to-1 correspondence in finger-based numerical representations JF - Journal of cognitive psychology N2 - Finger-based numerical representations have gained increasing research interest. However, their description and assessment often refer to different numerical principles of ordinality, cardinality and 1-to-1 correspondence. Our aim was to investigate similarities and differences between these principles in finger-based numerical representations. Sixty-eight healthy adults performed ordinal finger counting, cardinal finger montring (showing the number of gestures) and finger-to-number mapping with twisted arms and fingers. We found that counting gestures and montring postures were identical for Number 10 but differed to varying degrees for other numbers. Interestingly, there was no systematic relation between finger-to-number mapping and ordinal finger counting habits. These data question the assumption of a unitary embodied finger-based numerical representation, but suggest that different finger-based representations co-exist and can be recruited flexibly depending on the numerical aspects to be conveyed. KW - Finger-based numerical representations KW - Finger counting KW - 1-to-1 Correspondence KW - Cardinality KW - Ordinality Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2014.964719 SN - 2044-5911 SN - 2044-592X VL - 27 IS - 4 SP - 426 EP - 441 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Sery, Noa A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - 1 + 2 is more than 2 + 1: Violations of commutativity and identity axioms in mental arithmetic JF - Journal of cognitive psychology N2 - Over the past decade or so, a large number of studies have revealed that conceptual meaning is sensitive to situational context. More recently, similar contextual influences have been documented in the domain of number knowledge. Here we show such context dependency in a length production task. Adult participants saw single digit addition problems of the form n1 + n2 and produced the sum by changing bi-directionally the length of a horizontally extended line, using radially arranged buttons. We found that longer lines were produced when n1 < n2 compared to n1 > n2 and that unit size increased with result size. Thus, the mathematical axioms of commutativity and identity do not seem to hold in mental addition. We discuss implications of these observations for our understanding of cognitive mechanisms involved in mental arithmetic and for situated cognition generally. KW - Operand order effect KW - Situated cognition KW - Mental number line KW - SNARC KW - Operational momentum Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2014.973414 SN - 2044-5911 SN - 2044-592X VL - 27 IS - 4 SP - 471 EP - 477 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - A hierarchical view of grounded, embodied, and situated numerical cognition T2 - Cognitive processing : international quarterly of cognitive science Y1 - 2012 SN - 1612-4782 VL - 13 SP - S14 EP - S15 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - A hierarchical view of grounded, embodied, and situated numerical cognition JF - Cognitive processing : international quarterly of cognitive science N2 - There is much recent interest in the idea that we represent our knowledge together with the sensory and motor features that were activated during its acquisition. This paper reviews the evidence for such "embodiment" in the domain of numerical cognition, a traditional stronghold of abstract theories of knowledge representation. The focus is on spatial-numerical associations, such as the SNARC effect (small numbers are associated with left space, larger numbers with right space). Using empirical evidence from behavioral research, I first describe sensory and motor biases induced by SNARC, thus identifying numbers as embodied concepts. Next, I propose a hierarchical relationship between grounded, embodied, and situated aspects of number knowledge. This hierarchical conceptualization helps to understand the variety of SNARC-related findings and yields testable predictions about numerical cognition. I report several such tests, ranging from cross-cultural comparisons of horizontal and vertical SNARC effects (Shaki and Fischer in J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 38(3): 804-809, 2012) to motor cortical activation studies in adults with left- and right-hand counting preferences (Tschentscher et al. in NeuroImage 59: 3139-3148, 2012). It is concluded that the diagnostic features for each level of the proposed hierarchical knowledge representation, together with the spatial associations of numbers, make the domain of numerical knowledge an ideal testing ground for embodied cognition research. KW - Embodied cognition KW - Grounded cognition KW - Numerical cognition KW - SNARC effect Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-012-0477-5 SN - 1612-4782 VL - 13 SP - S161 EP - S164 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Keehner, Madeleine A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Unusual bodies, uncommon behaviors individual and group differences in embodied cognition in spatial tasks JF - Spatial cognition and computation N2 - This editorial introduces a set of papers on differential embodiment in spatial tasks. According to the theoretical notion of embodied cognition, our experiences of acting in the world, and the constraints of our sensory and motor systems, strongly shape our cognitive functions. In the current set of papers, the authors were asked to particularly consider idiosyncratic or differential embodied cognition in the context of spatial tasks and processes. In each contribution, differential embodiment is considered from one of two complementary perspectives: either by considering unusual individuals, who have atypical bodies or uncommon experiences of interacting with the world; or by exploring individual differences in the general population that reflect the naturally occurring variability in embodied processes. Our editorial summarizes the contributions to this special issue and discusses the insights they offer. We conclude from this collection of papers that exploring differences in the recruitment and involvement of embodied processes can be highly informative, and can add an extra dimension to our understanding of spatial cognitive functions. Taking a broader perspective, it can also shed light on important theoretical and empirical questions concerning the nature of embodied cognition per se. KW - embodied cognition KW - spatial cognition KW - individual differences KW - spatial ability KW - strategy KW - expertise KW - mental representation Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/13875868.2012.659303 SN - 1387-5868 VL - 12 IS - 2-3 SP - 71 EP - 82 PB - Taylor & Francis Group CY - Philadelphia ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Myachykov, Andriy A1 - Scheepers, Christoph A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Kessler, Klaus T1 - TEST: A tropic, embodied, and situated theory of cognition JF - Topics in cognitive science N2 - TEST is a novel taxonomy of knowledge representations based on three distinct hierarchically organized representational features: Tropism, Embodiment, and Situatedness. Tropic representational features reflect constraints of the physical world on the agent's ability to form, reactivate, and enrich embodied (i.e., resulting from the agent's bodily constraints) conceptual representations embedded in situated contexts. The proposed hierarchy entails that representations can, in principle, have tropic features without necessarily having situated and/or embodied features. On the other hand, representations that are situated and/or embodied are likely to be simultaneously tropic. Hence, although we propose tropism as the most general term, the hierarchical relationship between embodiment and situatedness is more on a par, such that the dominance of one component over the other relies on the distinction between offline storage versus online generation as well as on representation-specific properties. KW - Cognitive tropism KW - Embodiment KW - Groundedness KW - Situatedness KW - Language KW - Number processing KW - Perspective taking Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/tops.12024 SN - 1756-8757 SN - 1756-8765 VL - 6 IS - 3 SP - 442 EP - 460 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Apel, Jens K. A1 - Cangelosi, Angelo A1 - Ellis, Rob A1 - Goslin, Jeremy A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Object affordance influences instruction span JF - Experimental brain research N2 - We measured memory span for assembly instructions involving objects with handles oriented to the left or right side. Right-handed participants remembered more instructions when objects' handles were spatially congruent with the hand used in forthcoming assembly actions. No such affordance-based memory benefit was found for left-handed participants. These results are discussed in terms of motor simulation as an embodied rehearsal mechanism. KW - Action simulation KW - Affordance KW - Embodied cognition KW - Rehearsal KW - Sequential instruction KW - Working memory Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-012-3251-0 SN - 0014-4819 VL - 223 IS - 2 SP - 199 EP - 206 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - INPR A1 - Hartmann, Matthias A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Pupillometry: The eyes shed fresh light on the mind T2 - Current biology Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.02.028 SN - 0960-9822 SN - 1879-0445 VL - 24 IS - 7 SP - R281 EP - R282 PB - Cell Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Myachykov, Andriy A1 - Cangelosi, Angelo A1 - Ellis, Rob A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - The oculomotor resonance effect in spatial-numerical mapping JF - Acta psychologica : international journal of psychonomics N2 - We investigated automatic Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect in auditory number processing. Two experiments continually measured spatial characteristics of ocular drift at central fixation during and after auditory number presentation. Consistent with the notion of a spatially oriented mental number line, we found spontaneous magnitude-dependent gaze adjustments, both with and without a concurrent saccadic task. This fixation adjustment (1) had a small-number/left-lateralized bias and (2) it was biphasic as it emerged for a short time around the point of lexical access and it received later robust representation around following number onset. This pattern suggests a two-step mechanism of sensorimotor mapping between numbers and space a first-pass bottom-up activation followed by a top-down and more robust horizontal SNARC Our results inform theories of number processing as well as simulation-based approaches to cognition by identifying the characteristics of an oculomotor resonance phenomenon. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - Attention KW - Embodied cognition KW - Eye movements KW - Oculomotor resonance KW - Ocular drift KW - SNARC Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2015.09.006 SN - 0001-6918 SN - 1873-6297 VL - 161 SP - 162 EP - 169 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Winter, Bodo A1 - Matlock, Teenie A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Mental number space in three dimensions JF - Neuroscience & biobehavioral reviews : official journal of the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society N2 - A large number of experimental findings from neuroscience and experimental psychology demonstrated interactions between spatial cognition and numerical cognition. In particular, many researchers posited a horizontal mental number line, where small numbers are thought of as being to the left of larger numbers. This review synthesizes work on the mental association between space and number, indicating the existence of multiple spatial mappings: recent research has found associations between number and vertical space, as well as associations between number and near/far space. We discuss number space in three dimensions with an eye on potential origins of the different number mappings, and how these number mappings fit in with our current knowledge of brain organization and brain-culture interactions. We derive novel predictions and show how this research fits into a general view of cognition as embodied, grounded and situated. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Embodiment KW - Intra-parietal sulcus KW - Mental number line KW - Metaphor KW - Neglect KW - Spatial cognition KW - SNARC Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.09.005 SN - 0149-7634 SN - 1873-7528 VL - 57 SP - 209 EP - 219 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Brugger, Peter T1 - When digits help digits spatial-numerical associations point to finger counting as prime example of embodied cognition JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - Spatial numerical associations (SNAs) are prevalent yet their origin is poorly understood. We first consider the possible prime role of reading habits in shaping SNAs and list three observations that argue against a prominent influence of this role: (1) directional reading habits for numbers may conflict with those for non-numerical symbols, (2) short-term experimental manipulations can overrule the impact of decades of reading experience, (3) SNAs predate the acquisition of reading. As a promising alternative, we discuss behavioral, neuroscientific, and neuropsychological evidence in support of finger counting as the most likely initial determinant of SNAs. Implications of this "manumerical cognition" stance for the distinction between grounded, embodied, and situated cognition are discussed. KW - embodied cognition KW - finger counting KW - numerical cognition Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00260 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 2 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pinhas, Michal A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Addition goes where the big numbers are: evidence for a reversed operational momentum effect JF - Psychonomic bulletin & review : a journal of the Psychonomic Society N2 - Number processing evokes spatial biases, both when dealing with single digits and in more complex mental calculations. Here we investigated whether these two biases have a common origin, by examining their flexibility. Participants pointed to the locations of arithmetic results on a visually presented line with an inverted, right-to-left number arrangement. We found directionally opposite spatial biases for mental arithmetic and for a parity task administered both before and after the arithmetic task. We discuss implications of this dissociation in our results for the task-dependent cognitive representation of numbers. KW - Mental arithmetic KW - Mental number line KW - Operational momentum KW - Pointing KW - SNARC Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-014-0786-z SN - 1069-9384 SN - 1531-5320 VL - 22 IS - 4 SP - 993 EP - 1000 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - INPR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Newborn chicks need no number tricks. Commentary: Number-space mapping in the newborn chick resembles humans' mental number line T2 - Frontiers in human neuroscienc KW - mental number line KW - innate number sense KW - numerical cognition KW - spatial cognition KW - spatial numerical associations Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00451 SN - 1662-5161 VL - 9 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Apel, Jens K. A1 - Revie, Gavin F. A1 - Cangelosi, Angelo A1 - Ellis, Rob A1 - Goslin, Jeremy A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Attention deployment during memorizing and executing complex instructions JF - Experimental brain research N2 - We investigated the mental rehearsal of complex action instructions by recording spontaneous eye movements of healthy adults as they looked at objects on a monitor. Participants heard consecutive instructions, each of the form "move [object] to [location]''. Instructions were only to be executed after a go signal, by manipulating all objects successively with a mouse. Participants re-inspected previously mentioned objects already while listening to further instructions. This rehearsal behavior broke down after 4 instructions, coincident with participants' instruction span, as determined from subsequent execution accuracy. These results suggest that spontaneous eye movements while listening to instructions predict their successful execution. KW - Assembly task KW - Eye movements KW - Overt attention KW - Rehearsal KW - Sequential instruction KW - Working memory Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-011-2827-4 SN - 0014-4819 VL - 214 IS - 2 SP - 249 EP - 259 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Knudsen, Birgit A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Aschersleben, Gisa T1 - Development of spatial preferences for counting and picture naming JF - Psychological research : an international journal of perception, attention, memory, and action N2 - The direction of object enumeration reflects children's enculturation but previous work on the development of such spatial preferences has been inconsistent. Therefore, we documented directional preferences in finger counting, object counting, and picture naming for children (4 groups from 3 to 6 years, N = 104) and adults (N = 56). We found a right-side preference for finger counting in 3- to 6-year-olds and a left-side preference for counting objects and naming pictures by 6 years of age. Children were consistent in their special preferences when comparing object counting and picture naming, but not in other task pairings. Finally, spatial preferences were not related to cardinality comprehension. These results, together with other recent work, suggest a gradual development of spatial-numerical associations from early non-directional mappings into culturally constrained directional mappings. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-014-0623-z SN - 0340-0727 SN - 1430-2772 VL - 79 IS - 6 SP - 939 EP - 949 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Goebel, Silke M. T1 - Direction counts A comparative study of spatially directional counting biases in cultures with different reading directions JF - Journal of experimental child psychology N2 - Western adults associate small numbers with left space and large numbers with right space. Where does this pervasive spatial-numerical association come from? In this study, we first recorded directional counting preferences in adults with different reading experiences (left to right, right to left, mixed, and illiterate) and observed a clear relationship between reading and counting directions. We then recorded directional counting preferences in pre-schoolers and elementary school children from three of these reading cultures (left to right, right to left, and mixed). Culture-specific counting biases existed before reading acquisition in children as young as 3 years and were subsequently modified by early reading experience. Together, our results suggest that both directional counting and scanning activities contribute to number-space associations. KW - Counting KW - Numerical cognition KW - Reading direction KW - Number-space association KW - Mental Number KW - Cross-cultural Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2011.12.005 SN - 0022-0965 VL - 112 IS - 2 SP - 275 EP - 281 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Multiple spatial mappings in numerical cognition JF - Journal of experimental psychology : Human perception and performance N2 - A recent cross-cultural comparison (Shaki, Fischer, & Petrusic, 2009) suggested that spatially consistent processing habits for words and numbers are a necessary condition for the spatial representation of numbers (Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes; SNARC effect). Here we reexamine the SNARC in Israelis who read text from right to left but numbers from left to right. We show that, despite these spatially inconsistent processing habits, a SNARC effect still emerges when the response dimension is spatially orthogonal to the conflicting processing dimension. These results clarify the cognitive conditions for spatial-numerical mappings. KW - mental number line KW - reading habits KW - SNARC Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027562 SN - 0096-1523 VL - 38 IS - 3 SP - 804 EP - 809 PB - American Psychological Association CY - Washington ER - TY - INPR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Kaufmann, Liane A1 - Domahs, Frank T1 - Finger counting and numerical cognition T2 - Frontiers in psychology Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00108 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 3 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wasner, Mirjam A1 - Moeller, Korbinian A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Nuerk, Hans-Christoph T1 - Aspects of situated cognition in embodied numerosity: the case of finger counting JF - Cognitive processing : international quarterly of cognitive science N2 - Numerical cognitions such as spatial-numerical associations have been observed to be influenced by grounded, embodied and situated factors. For the case of finger counting, grounded and embodied influences have been reported. However, situated influences, e.g., that reported counting habits change with perception and action within a given situation, have not been systematically examined. To pursue the issue of situatedness of reported finger-counting habits, 458 participants were tested in three separate groups: (1) spontaneous condition: counting with both hands available, (2) perceptual condition: counting with horizontal (left-to-right) perceptual arrangement of fingers (3) perceptual and proprioceptive condition: counting with horizontal (left-to-right) perceptual arrangement of fingers and with busy dominant hand. Report of typical counting habits differed strongly between the three conditions. 28 % reported to start counting with the left hand in the spontaneous counting condition (1), 54 % in the perceptual condition (2) and 62 % in the perceptual and proprioceptive condition (3). Additionally, all participants in the spontaneous counting group showed a symmetry-based counting pattern (with the thumb as number 6), while in the two other groups, a considerable number of participants exhibited a spatially continuous counting pattern (with the pinkie as number 6). Taken together, the study shows that reported finger-counting habits depend on the perceptual and proprioceptive situation and thus are strongly influenced by situated cognition. We suggest that this account reconciles apparently contradictory previous findings of different counting preferences regarding the starting hand in different examination situations. KW - Finger counting KW - Situated cognition KW - Number processing KW - Finger-digit mapping Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-014-0599-z SN - 1612-4782 SN - 1612-4790 VL - 15 IS - 3 SP - 317 EP - 328 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Random walks on the mental number line JF - Experimental brain research KW - Mental number line KW - RNG KW - SNARC KW - Spatial bias KW - Walking Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-013-3718-7 SN - 0014-4819 SN - 1432-1106 VL - 232 IS - 1 SP - 43 EP - 49 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Why Numbers Are Embodied Concepts JF - Frontiers in Psychology KW - arithmetic KW - numerical cognition KW - number concepts KW - embodied cognition KW - philosophy of science Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02347 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 8 SP - 1 EP - 3 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - GEN A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Why Numbers Are Embodied Concepts T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 440 KW - arithmetic KW - numerical cognition KW - number concepts KW - embodied cognition KW - philosophy of science Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-412097 IS - 440 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Lachmair, Martin A1 - Ruiz Fernandez, Susana A1 - Bury, Nils-Alexander A1 - Gerjets, Peter A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Bock, Otmar L. T1 - How body orientation affects concepts of space, time and valence BT - functional relevance of integrating sensorimotor experiences during word processing T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - The aim of the present study was to test the functional relevance of the spatial concepts UP or DOWN for words that use these concepts either literally (space) or metaphorically (time, valence). A functional relevance would imply a symmetrical relationship between the spatial concepts and words related to these concepts, showing that processing words activate the related spatial concepts on one hand, but also that an activation of the concepts will ease the retrieval of a related word on the other. For the latter, the rotation angle of participant's body position was manipulated either to an upright or a head-down tilted body position to activate the related spatial concept. Afterwards participants produced in a within-subject design previously memorized words of the concepts space, time and valence according to the pace of a metronome. All words were related either to the spatial concept UP or DOWN. The results including Bayesian analyses show (1) a significant interaction between body position and words using the concepts UP and DOWN literally, (2) a marginal significant interaction between body position and temporal words and (3) no effect between body position and valence words. However, post-hoc analyses suggest no difference between experiments. Thus, the authors concluded that integrating sensorimotor experiences is indeed of functional relevance for all three concepts of space, time and valence. However, the strength of this functional relevance depends on how close words are linked to mental concepts representing vertical space. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 505 KW - mental timeline KW - cognition KW - language KW - representation KW - hypothesis KW - mechanisms KW - future KW - flies KW - line KW - mind Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-410942 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 505 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Shaki, Samuel A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Newborn chicks need no number tricks BT - Commentary: Number-space mapping in the newborn chick resembles humans' mental number line T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - kein Abstract T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 414 KW - mental number line KW - innate number sense KW - numerical cognition KW - spatial cognition KW - spatial numerical associations Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-406425 IS - 414 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hartmann, Matthias A1 - Mast, Fred W. A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Spatial biases during mental arithmetic BT - evidence from eye movements on a blank screen T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - While the influence of spatial-numerical associations in number categorization tasks has been well established, their role in mental arithmetic is less clear. It has been hypothesized that mental addition leads to rightward and upward shifts of spatial attention (along the "mental number line"), whereas subtraction leads to leftward and downward shifts. We addressed this hypothesis by analyzing spontaneous eye movements during mental arithmetic. Participants solved verbally presented arithmetic problems (e.g., 2 + 7, 8-3) aloud while looking at a blank screen. We found that eye movements reflected spatial biases in the ongoing mental operation: Gaze position shifted more upward when participants solved addition compared to subtraction problems, and the horizontal gaze position was partly determined by the magnitude of the operands. Interestingly, the difference between addition and subtraction trials was driven by the operator (plus vs. minus) but was not influenced by the computational process. Thus, our results do not support the idea of a mental movement toward the solution during arithmetic but indicate a semantic association between operation and space. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 426 KW - mental arithmetic KW - eye movements KW - mental number line KW - operational momentum KW - embodied cognition KW - grounded cognition Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-406504 IS - 426 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Shaki, Samuel T1 - Two steps to space for numbers T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 412 KW - spatial-nunmerical association KW - SNARC KW - mental number line KW - numerical cognition KW - spatial cognition Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-406522 IS - 412 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Wiemers, Michael A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Effects of hand proximity and movement direction in spatial and temporal gap discrimination T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Previous research on the interplay between static manual postures and visual attention revealed enhanced visual selection near the hands (near-hand effect). During active movements there is also superior visual performance when moving toward compared to away from the stimulus (direction effect). The "modulated visual pathways" hypothesis argues that differential involvement of magno- and parvocellular visual processing streams causes the near-hand effect. The key finding supporting this hypothesis is an increase in temporal and a reduction in spatial processing in near-hand space (Gozli et al., 2012). Since this hypothesis has, so far, only been tested with static hand postures, we provide a conceptual replication of Gozli et al.'s (2012) result with moving hands, thus also probing the generality of the direction effect. Participants performed temporal or spatial gap discriminations while their right hand was moving below the display. In contrast to Gozli et al (2012), temporal gap discrimination was superior at intermediate and not near hand proximity. In spatial gap discrimination, a direction effect without hand proximity effect suggests that pragmatic attentional maps overshadowed temporal/spatial processing biases for far/near-hand space. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 428 KW - attention KW - perception and action KW - two visual systems KW - visual perception KW - movement preparation Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-406568 IS - 428 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Sixtus, Elena A1 - Göbel, Silke M. T1 - Commentary BT - a pointer about grasping numbers T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - kein Abstract vorhanden T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 420 KW - numerical cognition KW - embodied cognition KW - gestures KW - numeracy training KW - mathematical cognition Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-406260 IS - 420 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sixtus, Elena A1 - Lonnemann, Jan A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Werner, Karsten T1 - Mental Number Representations in 2D Space JF - Frontiers in Psychology N2 - There is evidence both for mental number representations along a horizontal mental number line with larger numbers to the right of smaller numbers (for Western cultures) and a physically grounded, vertical representation where “more is up.” Few studies have compared effects in the horizontal and vertical dimension and none so far have combined both dimensions within a single paradigm where numerical magnitude was task-irrelevant and none of the dimensions was primed by a response dimension. We now investigated number representations over both dimensions, building on findings that mental representations of numbers and space co-activate each other. In a Go/No-go experiment, participants were auditorily primed with a relatively small or large number and then visually presented with quasi-randomly distributed distractor symbols and one Arabic target number (in Go trials only). Participants pressed a central button whenever they detected the target number and elsewise refrained from responding. Responses were not more efficient when small numbers were presented to the left and large numbers to the right. However, results indicated that large numbers were associated with upper space more strongly than small numbers. This suggests that in two-dimensional space when no response dimension is given, numbers are conceptually associated with vertical, but not horizontal space. KW - spatial-numerical associations KW - SNARC KW - vertical space KW - horizontal space KW - Go/No-go task Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00172 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 10 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - GEN A1 - Sixtus, Elena A1 - Lonnemann, Jan A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Werner, Karsten T1 - Mental Number Representations in 2D Space T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - There is evidence both for mental number representations along a horizontal mental number line with larger numbers to the right of smaller numbers (for Western cultures) and a physically grounded, vertical representation where “more is up.” Few studies have compared effects in the horizontal and vertical dimension and none so far have combined both dimensions within a single paradigm where numerical magnitude was task-irrelevant and none of the dimensions was primed by a response dimension. We now investigated number representations over both dimensions, building on findings that mental representations of numbers and space co-activate each other. In a Go/No-go experiment, participants were auditorily primed with a relatively small or large number and then visually presented with quasi-randomly distributed distractor symbols and one Arabic target number (in Go trials only). Participants pressed a central button whenever they detected the target number and elsewise refrained from responding. Responses were not more efficient when small numbers were presented to the left and large numbers to the right. However, results indicated that large numbers were associated with upper space more strongly than small numbers. This suggests that in two-dimensional space when no response dimension is given, numbers are conceptually associated with vertical, but not horizontal space. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 538 KW - spatial-numerical associations KW - SNARC KW - vertical space KW - horizontal space KW - Go/No-go task Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-424960 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 538 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hartmann, Matthias A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Exploring the numerical mind by eye-tracking: a special issue T2 - Psychological research : an international journal of perception, attention, memory, and action Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-016-0759-0 SN - 0340-0727 SN - 1430-2772 VL - 80 SP - 325 EP - 333 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Myachykov, Andriy A1 - Ellis, Rob A1 - Cangelosi, Angelo A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Ocular drift along the mental number line JF - Psychological research : an international journal of perception, attention, memory, and action N2 - We examined the spontaneous association between numbers and space by documenting attention deployment and the time course of associated spatial-numerical mapping with and without overt oculomotor responses. In Experiment 1, participants maintained central fixation while listening to number names. In Experiment 2, they made horizontal target-direct saccades following auditory number presentation. In both experiments, we continuously measured spontaneous ocular drift in horizontal space during and after number presentation. Experiment 2 also measured visual-probe-directed saccades following number presentation. Reliable ocular drift congruent with a horizontal mental number line emerged during and after number presentation in both experiments. Our results provide new evidence for the implicit and automatic nature of the oculomotor resonance effect associated with the horizontal spatial-numerical mapping mechanism. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-015-0731-4 SN - 0340-0727 SN - 1430-2772 VL - 80 SP - 379 EP - 388 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hartmann, Matthias A1 - Mast, Fred W. A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Counting is a spatial process: evidence from eye movements JF - Psychological research : an international journal of perception, attention, memory, and action N2 - Spatial-numerical associations (small numbers-left/lower space and large numbers-right/upper space) are regularly found in simple number categorization tasks. These associations were taken as evidence for a spatially oriented mental number line. However, the role of spatial-numerical associations during more complex number processing, such as counting or mental arithmetic is less clear. Here, we investigated whether counting is associated with a movement along the mental number line. Participants counted aloud upward or downward in steps of 3 for 45 s while looking at a blank screen. Gaze position during upward counting shifted rightward and upward, while the pattern for downward counting was less clear. Our results, therefore, confirm the hypothesis of a movement along the mental number line for addition. We conclude that space is not only used to represent number magnitudes but also to actively operate on numbers in more complex tasks such as counting, and that the eyes reflect this spatial mental operation. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-015-0722-5 SN - 0340-0727 SN - 1430-2772 VL - 80 SP - 399 EP - 409 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wiemers, Michael A1 - Fischer, Martin H. T1 - Effects of Hand Proximity and Movement Direction in Spatial and Temporal Gap Discrimination JF - Frontiers in psychology KW - attention KW - perception and action KW - two visual systems KW - visual perception KW - movement preparation Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01930 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 7 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lachmair, Martin A1 - Fernandez, Susana Ruiz A1 - Bury, Nils-Alexander A1 - Gerjets, Peter A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Bock, Otmar L. T1 - How Body Orientation Affects Concepts of Space, Time and Valence: Functional Relevance of Integrating Sensorimotor Experiences during Word Processing JF - PLoS one Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0165795 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 11 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gerth, Sabrina A1 - Klassert, Annegret A1 - Dolk, Thomas A1 - Fliesser, Michael A1 - Fischer, Martin H. A1 - Nottbusch, Guido A1 - Festman, Julia T1 - Is Handwriting Performance Affected by the Writing Surface? Comparing Tablet vs. Paper JF - Frontiers in psychology KW - handwriting KW - movement kinematics KW - writing acquisition KW - children KW - graphomotor control KW - tablet Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01308 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 7 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER -