Some teaching aids recommend that children with arithmetic difficulties should not draw the number line from left to right, but from bottom to top. According to a new study by researchers at Monash University in Melbourne In fact, our brains seem to map numbers more effectively on the vertical axis than on the horizontal plane.
In the experiment, 73 people were shown pairs of numbers that were arranged in different positions relative to each other. Students must point the joystick in the direction of the higher value as quickly as possible. They made fewer mistakes when the larger number appeared above the smaller number. However, in terms of accuracy, there was no difference between placing the larger number to the left or right of the smaller comparison value on the screen.
Cognitive scientist Elena Sixtus from the University of Potsdam confirmed the finding: “More and more studies indicate that the vertical representation of numbers is more robust.” In 2019, with her colleagues, she published a study in which volunteers found a hidden number in the mix of characters must be. The larger numbers were easy to spot when they appeared higher up. However, it does not help people if large numbers appear on the right and small numbers appear on the left.
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