One, 2, Thrie: Effects of Surface Format on the Intentional and Unintentional Activation of Quantity

I examined intentional and unintentional activation of quantity information when numbers were presented as digits, words, and pseudohomophones (e.g., 1, one, wun). Undergraduates completed numerical (intentional activation of quantity) and physical (unintentional activation of quantity) comparison tasks. The size congruity and distance effects were used as indices that quantity information was activated. In the number comparison task all formats elicited a distance effect. In contrast, in the physical comparison task, digits but not words activated quantity information. The results of Experiment 1 also showed pseudohomophones unintentionally activated quantity information. Examination of the stimuli indicated that the physical length of pseudohomophones and congruity were confounded. Experiment 2 resolved this by forcing words and pseudohomophones to fit into a specified area. The results concerning digits and words were replicated. However, there was no evidence pseudohomophones unintentionally activated quantity information. Results are discussed in terms of theories on the representation of quantity information.