摘要：Number magnitude is known to be activated even when it is irrelevant. However,
little is known about whether and how this automatic number magnitude activation
is attentionally used to select relevant information and to inhibit irrelevant
information. In an Eriksen paradigm, we investigated this issue in a
magnitude comparison task with the standard 5. First, we replicated the usual
attentional congruency effects for numbers. When the distractors would lead to a
response which is incongruent with the correct response to the target,
participants were slow. Second, we observed the common number magnitude
(distance and SNARC) effects for the target number, but generally failed to find
such effects for distractors. Finally, we found evidence that participants could
not help making a dysfunc-tional second order magnitude comparison in which they
compared the target with the to-be-inhibited distractor. The results
seem to suggest that it is not the magnitude of the distractors themselves which
determined performance, but their relation to target magnitude. This relation
seems to be used in a functional way to enhance attentional selection and
inhibition processes. In line with results from other paradigms (Fischer,
Castel, Dodd, & Pratt, 2003) we conclude that the automaticity of number
magnitude processing and its influence on attentional selection and inhibition
procedures should not be underestimated.
关键词：mental number line, SNARC, MARC, Eriksen, attention, distance effect
