Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences - Theses

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/11343/267

Filters

2019 1
1
Reset filters

Settings
Statistics
Citations
Subject: attention × Author: Chen, Jian ×

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    The role of attention in subitizing
    Chen, Jian ( 2019)
    This thesis aimed to address a long-standing question: “Why are small numbers of items enumerated differently from large numbers of items?” (Trick & Pylyshyn, 1993, p. 331). Specifically, this thesis examined whether the processing of small sets requires attention processes and, if so, how attention plays a role in subitizing. Answers to this question are central to debates about the nature of contemporary models of numerical cognition. In this thesis, attention was manipulated in an enumeration task using the Posner Cueing paradigm. The physical properties of to-be-enumerated objects in the experiments were well-controlled. Different display times of objects were used in the experiments. An internal mini meta-analysis was run to synthesize the attention effects in these experiments. A meta-analysis was also conducted to evaluate the observed attention effects in previous studies. Moreover, to investigate how attention plays a role in the subitizing range, experiments was conducted to compare the attention effect between an enumeration task and a control task. Findings from the experiments reported in this thesis suggested a robust attention effect in the subitizing range: there was no dichotomy in attention between subitizing and counting. These findings imply that subitizing processing requires attention. The meta- analysis evaluating previous studies also suggested a robust attention effect in the subitizing range. Moreover, the findings reported in this thesis suggested that attention does not specifically affect numerical processing. Instead, attention played an important role in general cognitive processes in the subitizing range. A tentative model was proposed to explain the mechanisms underlying visual enumeration, especially in the subitizing range. In summary, these findings suggest that enumeration in the subitizing range requires attention. Specifically, attention is required for general processes in the subitizing range.