Decimals are not processed automatically, not even as being smaller than one

Arava Y. Kallai, Joseph Tzelgov

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

Common fractions have been found to be processed intentionally but not automatically, which led to the conclusion that they are not represented holistically in long-term memory. However, decimals are more similar to natural numbers in their form and thus might be better candidates to be holistically represented by educated adults. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the automatic processing of decimals by college students in 4 experiments. When decimals were presented in a familiar form (e.g., 0.3, 0.05) the length of the stimuli (i.e., the number of digits) dominated performance rather than the decimal value. When controlling for the number of digits and their location within the digit string, using the place-value task, decimals were not processed automatically in either a numerical comparison task or a physical comparison task. Under the same conditions, natural numbers were processed automatically. We conclude that decimals are not represented holistically. Results of mixed pairs of a decimal and a natural number suggest that, unlike common fractions, decimals are not automatically perceived as smaller than natural numbers. We conclude that decimal place-values (e.g., tenths, hundredths) are not represented well enough to be automatically activated, and we discuss possible explanations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)962-975
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition
Volume40
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2014

Keywords

  • Automatic processing of numbers
  • Decimals
  • Fractions
  • Numerical representation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • Language and Linguistics
  • Linguistics and Language

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