The Influence Of Working Memory Load On SNARC Effect

The SNARC effect is an important index in spatial-numerical associations.Among different theories of spatial-numerical associations,an influential model is long-term memory “mental number line”.However,ore and more latest researchs point out that working memory plays an important role in the spatial-numerical associations.This study uses a dual-task paradigm: the main task is numbers magnitude comparison and the secondary task is load task based on n-back.The study included three experiments,the experimental materials were simple geometric figures and simple Chinese characters.In the first two experiments each experimental material included baseline levels and three load levels,the last experiment included baseline task and stimulus interval tasks under two materials.The purpose of this study is to discuss the influence of the different memory load types and different load levels on the SNARC effect and the mechanism of the SNARC effect.Conclusion:(1)In the magnitude comparison task,the SNARC effect of the load levels is stronger than the baseline level with a simple geometric figures load,but the SNARC effect disappears at the 2-load and 3-load levels.(2)In the magnitude comparison task,with Chinese characters as load,we observed the SNARC effect at the three load levels and the load levels was stronger than the baseline level.(3)The baseline task and the stimulus interval task did not differ between the SNARC effect and the response time.