Abstract

Recent work has brought attention to the phenomenon of memory-based sequence smoothing. In this research, subjects study a sequence of random numbers and then recall them in their correct order. Previous findings suggest that subjects tend to remember a smoothed version of the original sequence (Anderson 1999). The smoothing phenomenon, to be covered in depth later, can be conceptualized as drift toward a local mean, such that subjects ’ recall of a number at a certain position is influenced by the numbers in adjacent positions. The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between memory-based sequence smoothing and representation. It is hypothesized that experimental conditions that encourage non-categorical, magnitude-based encoding will display a greater degree of smoothing than will conditions that encourage categorical encoding. I will review the evidence supporting memory-based sequence smoothing, along with the literature on mental representation and numerical cognition. I will also discuss how the theories of numerical cognition explain smoothing and how smoothing might play an adaptive role in numerical cognition.

Citations