Influence of Task Switching on Number Processing

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Korbinian Möller, since 3/2018
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: from 2017 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 367397741

Recent research indicates that success in managing modern life at the beginning of the 21st century is associated substantially with the ability to appropriately deal with and handle numbers. Therefore, research on the representation of numbers and the cognitive underpinnings of numerical abilities is highly relevant. In particular, it is important to understand which cognitive processes are critical for the processing of numerical information.Besides domain-specific numerical abilities such as sufficient understanding of number magnitude or arithmetic procedures, domain-general processes gained increasing research interest as factor being critical for the processing of numerical information. In particular, the domain-general ability of cognitive control seems to be of specific importance in the processing of numbers, even in tasks as simple as number comparison influences of cognitive control were reported. However, so far studies investigating the influence of cognitive control in number processing mainly focused on response conflicts within the same task (most often magnitude comparison tasks). To overcome this shortcoming, this project aims at investigating influences of cognitive control on number processing when participants have to switch between two numerical tasks. As such task switching paradigms are commonly used in cognitive control research this represents a new approach on influences of cognitive control in number processing. In particular, we will investigate the interrelation of number processing and task switching considering effects of single-digit as well as two-digit number processing. These will be investigated in five studies, in which we apply our previously successful approach by combining empirical experiments with computational modeling. In all of the empirical experiments, participants will have to switch between a magnitude comparison task and a parity judgment task. In the first study, we will examine how effects of single-digit numbers are affected by switches between a magnitude comparison task and a parity judgment task. In three further studies, we will pursue the same idea for the processing of two-digit numbers. Furthermore, it is planned to account for the empirical results of these studies by computational models based on our recent modelling work. Finally, in a fifth study, we aim at integrating the respective computational modelling approaches into a general model framework. In sum, this innovative synthesis of a new experimental paradigm with a combined empirical and computational modelling approach will allow for new insights into the interplay of domain-specific numerical and domain-general processes of cognitive control in number processing.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Dr. Stefan Huber, until 3/2018