Numerical Stroop effect

For example, comparing a physically larger "3" and a smaller "5" can result in slower reaction times, as the brain encounters conflicting information between size and value.

The numerical Stroop effect also highlights the automatic nature of number processing, which can persist even when participants are explicitly instructed to ignore one dimension (e.g., size).

Studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) have demonstrated that brain regions such as the intraparietal sulcus are crucial for processing this effect, with heightened activation observed during incongruent trials.

The effect is further modulated by individual cognitive development, as children may respond differently depending on their familiarity with numerical symbols.

[5][6] Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have pinpointed the brain regions that are involved in the numerical Stroop effect.

In addition, behavioral, physiological, and computational studies support the view, although not unanimously,[11] that the conflict between congruent and incongruent conditions is observed up to the response level,[12][14][15][16][17] and is dependent on the developmental stage of the participant.