Searching for the functional locus of the SNARC effect: Evidence for a response-related origin

Abstract

Dehaene, Bossini, and Giraux (1993) showed that when participants make parity judgments, responses to numerically small numbers are made faster with the left hand, whereas responses to large numbers are made faster with the right hand (the SNARC [spatial-numerical association of response codes] effect). According to one view, the SNARC effect arises at an early processing stage due to (in)congruencies between the digit's side of presentation and its representation on the mental number line, independently of response effector(s). Alternatively, the SNARC effect might arise at a later response-related stage due to (in)congruencies between the digit's representation on the mental number line and the side of response, independently of the side of presentation. The results of three experiments, using central and lateralized stimuli, and vocal and manual responses, clearly support the view that the SNARC effect arises at a relatively late response-related stage, without substantive contributions from earlier processing stages.