Modeling the approximate number system to quantify the contribution of visual stimulus features
Modeling the approximate number system to quantify the contribution of visual stimulus features
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DOI：
10.1016/j.cognition.2015.05.016
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发表时间：
2015-09-01
期刊：
影响因子：
3.4
通讯作者：
Brannon, Elizabeth M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
DeWind, Nicholas K.;Adams, Geoffrey K.;Brannon, Elizabeth M.
近似数字系统（ANS）有助于估计集合中的项目数量。通常，ANS 功能是通过要求参与者比较两个阵列中的点数来评估的。准确性由所比较的组的数字比率决定，每个参与者的韦伯分数 (w) 提供了 ANS 敏锐度的定量指标。然而，在进行数值比较时，表现也会受到刺激的非数值特征的影响，例如点的大小和间距。当前的数量比较模型没有考虑这些影响，因此根据用于控制非数字特征的方法导致 w 的估计不同。在这里，我们提出了一个新模型，将 ANS 敏锐度的影响与非数字刺激特征的影响区分开来。结果是对 w 的估计，它是数字敏锐度的理论上更有效的表示，并且是表示参与者对数字的感知受非数字特征影响的程度的新颖术语。我们在 20 名成年人的样本中测试了这个模型，发现通过正确归因非数字刺激特征引起的错误，获得的 w 在不同的刺激条件下更加可靠。我们发现，尽管非数字特征使所有参与者对数字歧视产生偏见，但数字是大多数参与者中导致歧视的主要特征。我们的研究结果支持这样的观点：虽然数字是一种独特的视觉量，但数字的内部表示与其他量值的表示紧密相关。这种用于识别刺激的数字和非数字特征的不同影响的工具不仅对于 ANS 的行为研究具有重要意义，而且对于与 ANS 功能相关的神经数据集的收集和分析也具有重要意义。 (C) 2015 年作者。由 Elsevier B.V. 出版
The approximate number system (ANS) subserves estimation of the number of items in a set. Typically, ANS function is assessed by requiring participants to compare the number of dots in two arrays. Accuracy is determined by the numerical ratio of the sets being compared, and each participant's Weber fraction (w) provides a quantitative index of ANS acuity. When making numerical comparisons, however, performance is also influenced by non-numerical features of the stimuli, such as the size and spacing of dots. Current models of numerosity comparison do not account for these effects and consequently lead to different estimates of w depending on the methods used to control for non-numerical features. Here we proffer a new model that teases apart the effects of ANS acuity from the effects of non-numerical stimulus features. The result is an estimate of w that is a more theoretically valid representation of numerical acuity and novel terms that denote the degree to which a participant's perception of number is affected by non-numerical features. We tested this model in a sample of 20 adults and found that, by correctly attributing errors due to non-numerical stimulus features, the w obtained was more reliable across different stimulus conditions. We found that although non-numerical features biased numerosity discriminations in all participants, number was the primary feature driving discriminations in most of them. Our findings support the idea that, while numerosity is a distinct visual quantity, the internal representation of number is tightly bound to the representation of other magnitudes. This tool for identifying the different effects of the numerical and non-numerical features of a stimulus has important implications not only for the behavioral investigation of the ANS, but also for the collection and analyses of neural data sets associated with ANS function. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.