The development of the SNARC effect: Evidence for early verbal coding

In a recent study, Gevers and colleagues (2010, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Vol. 139, pp. 180–190) showed that the SNARC (spatial numerical association of response codes) effect in adults results not only from spatial coding of magnitude (e.g., mental number line hypothesis) but also from verbal coding. Because children are surrounded by rulers, number lines, and the like in the classroom, it is intuitively appealing to assume that they first use their mental number line to represent numbers and that only later in development a verbal recoding of magnitude information takes place. However, this hypothesis has never been tested. The goal of the current study was to define the developmental pattern of both accounts (spatial and verbal) in explaining the SNARC effect. To this end, 9- and 11-year-olds were tested in a magnitude comparison task. Surprisingly, clear and robust evidence for verbal coding of magnitude information was observed in both age groups. Our results imply that the ability to use verbal coding of magnitude information is robustly present early in formal schooling.

► A recent study showed that verbal (and not spatial) coding dominates the SNARC effect in adults.
► Is the SNARC effect in children best explained by verbal or spatial coding?
► Elementary-school children of 9 and 11 years old were tested in a magnitude comparison task.
► Clear and robust evidence for verbal coding was observed in both age groups.
► Numbers are coded in a verbal way already relatively early in formal schooling.