Creating number semantics through finger movement perception

Number generation bias after action observation

“…The non-biological fake hands were composed of geometrical shapes matched in size, aperture and closure amplitude, and colours with the biological hands (see Fig. 1, panel A; for similar stimuli, see Badets and Pesenti 2010). It is worth noting that all the participants reported during the post-experiment debriefing that the closing and opening biological postures were perceived as real actions, and that the non-biological fake hands were perceived as objects, and not biological stimuli.…”

“…For example, when grip closing or grip opening were used as motor responses, participants initiated grip closing faster in response to small-magnitude numbers whereas they initiated grip opening faster in response to large-magnitude numbers (Andres et al 2004;Lindemann et al 2007). This global semantic-to-motor interaction shows that processing small or large-magnitude numbers primes grip closing or grip opening, respectively (Badets and Pesenti 2010). It has also been shown that numerical magnitude influences the judgement of actions towards objects (e.g.…”

“…In the present study, the participants had to verbally generate as randomly as possible a number between 1 and 10 after the presentation of a closing or opening grip; hands changing colour were used as a control condition. If only grip closing and small-magnitude numbers are semantically linked (Badets and Pesenti 2010), then participants should produce more small numbers after the observation of a grip closing. This effect should not be observed with a grip opening or after any colour change as these stimuli are not related to number magnitude.…”

Random Movements Generation in Western and Eastern Cultures

“…Several studies have documented a strict interaction between motor system and numerical representation (Fischer, Warlop, Hill, &, Fias, 2004;Badets & Pesenti, 2010, 2011 as well as the relationship between quantity, space, and decisional processes (Loetscher, Bockisch, Nicholls, & Brugger, 2010;Loetscher et al, 2008;Shaki & Fischer, 2013;Vicario, 2013). In this regard, spatial attention mechanisms might play a key role in explaining these forms of interaction in the human brain (Vicario, 2011;Vicario, Bonní, & Koch, 2011;Vicario, Caltagirone, & Oliveri, 2007;Vicario & Martino, 2010;Vicario, Martino, & Koch, 2013;Vicario et al, 2008;Vicario, Rappo, Pepi, & Oliveri, 2009;Vicario, Rappo, Pepi, Pavan, & Martino, 2012).…”

Try to See It My Way: The Discursive Function of Idiosyncratic Mathematical Metaphor

“…6 If you've already had 500 at-bats [LH opens, shifts slightly to the left, palm up, "holding" the 500 atbats, then relaxes], and then you get out one more time, it's not going to make it go down that much-it'll make it go down like two points [LH pinches thumb and index as if to reduce quantity, corresponding to the subtraction of two points (cf. Badets & Pesenti, 2010)-it is the same "pinch" gesture he produced for "ripple"], or . .…”