EXPRESS: The effect of spatial distance on numerical distance processing

The close relationship between numerical and spatial representation has been widely studied. However, little is known regarding the influence of spatial distance on the processing of numerical distance. The purpose of the current study was to examine this relationship by employing a modified numerical Stroop task, in which the spatial distance was either congruent or incongruent with the numerical distance. That is, numerical and spatial distances were either compatible with each other or incompatible. Experiment 1 demonstrated that when participants were directly requested to assess the numerical distance, spatial distance influenced task performance, thereby revealing a novel effect – the spatial-numerical distance congruency effect. Experiment 2 demonstrated that these relations are asymmetrical and revealed that numerical distance did not influence spatial distance when the numerical distance was task-irrelevant. Experiment 3 revealed that the spatial-numerical distance congruency effect can also be obtained automatically by employing a numerical comparison task, which is considered a marker for indirect distance processing. In addition, also tested across the three experiments was whether spatial alignment on the screen (i.e., left, center, and right) can influence the spatial-numerical distance congruency effect. Results revealed that when numbers were presented more naturally (on the left and center of the screen), a larger effect was obtained compared to when stimuli were presented on the right side. Together, these findings shed new light regarding the relationship between numerical distance and spatial distance and whether and how these aspects influence each other.