Adaptation biases the parallel perception of subitized numerosities

Abstract Numerosity adaptation is a phenomenon in which prolonged exposure to a stimulus of greater numerosity makes subsequent stimuli appear less numerous, and vice versa. It has been confined to moderated numerosities outside the subitizing range (> 4). This study investigated whether the esti...

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Main Authors: Wei Liu, Xiaoke Zhao, Ying Liu, Yating Li, Jingguang Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2024-10-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-76536-1
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author Wei Liu
Xiaoke Zhao
Ying Liu
Yating Li
Jingguang Li
author_facet Wei Liu
Xiaoke Zhao
Ying Liu
Yating Li
Jingguang Li
author_sort Wei Liu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Numerosity adaptation is a phenomenon in which prolonged exposure to a stimulus of greater numerosity makes subsequent stimuli appear less numerous, and vice versa. It has been confined to moderated numerosities outside the subitizing range (> 4). This study investigated whether the estimation of small numerosities (1–4), which is performed rapidly and accurately due to the mechanism of subitizing, is susceptible to adaptation. After adapting to a 50-dot stimulus, participants were presented with stimuli consisting of 1–5 color sets. In some trials, participants were informed of the target color-set before the presentation of stimuli, while in others, they were instructed afterwards. When estimating 1–4 dots in the single-color set or superset (the total dots), no adaptation effect was observed. The coefficient of variation (CV) was below 0.05, indicating the effective function of subitizing. However, when enumerating subsets in parallel, adaptation biased the estimation. The CV in estimating subitized numerosities was comparable to and correlated with that of estimating moderate numerosities (5–12), suggesting that subitizing was superseded by numerosity estimation. Greater effects arise when the targets were probed afterwards, with elevated CV. The prior adaptor may be more weighted to optimize detection of number deviations, especially under higher perceptual uncertainty.
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spelling doaj-art-a1ecb87c86974e0794f9132876db27ab2025-08-20T02:18:28ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222024-10-0114111010.1038/s41598-024-76536-1Adaptation biases the parallel perception of subitized numerositiesWei Liu0Xiaoke Zhao1Ying Liu2Yating Li3Jingguang Li4College of Education, Yunnan Minzu UniversityCollege of Teacher Education, Dali UniversityCollege of Education, Yunnan Minzu UniversityCollege of Education, Yunnan Minzu UniversityCollege of Teacher Education, Dali UniversityAbstract Numerosity adaptation is a phenomenon in which prolonged exposure to a stimulus of greater numerosity makes subsequent stimuli appear less numerous, and vice versa. It has been confined to moderated numerosities outside the subitizing range (> 4). This study investigated whether the estimation of small numerosities (1–4), which is performed rapidly and accurately due to the mechanism of subitizing, is susceptible to adaptation. After adapting to a 50-dot stimulus, participants were presented with stimuli consisting of 1–5 color sets. In some trials, participants were informed of the target color-set before the presentation of stimuli, while in others, they were instructed afterwards. When estimating 1–4 dots in the single-color set or superset (the total dots), no adaptation effect was observed. The coefficient of variation (CV) was below 0.05, indicating the effective function of subitizing. However, when enumerating subsets in parallel, adaptation biased the estimation. The CV in estimating subitized numerosities was comparable to and correlated with that of estimating moderate numerosities (5–12), suggesting that subitizing was superseded by numerosity estimation. Greater effects arise when the targets were probed afterwards, with elevated CV. The prior adaptor may be more weighted to optimize detection of number deviations, especially under higher perceptual uncertainty.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-76536-1Numerosity adaptationSubitizingEstimationParallel processingGist perception
spellingShingle Wei Liu
Xiaoke Zhao
Ying Liu
Yating Li
Jingguang Li
Adaptation biases the parallel perception of subitized numerosities
Scientific Reports
Numerosity adaptation
Subitizing
Estimation
Parallel processing
Gist perception
title Adaptation biases the parallel perception of subitized numerosities
title_full Adaptation biases the parallel perception of subitized numerosities
title_fullStr Adaptation biases the parallel perception of subitized numerosities
title_full_unstemmed Adaptation biases the parallel perception of subitized numerosities
title_short Adaptation biases the parallel perception of subitized numerosities
title_sort adaptation biases the parallel perception of subitized numerosities
topic Numerosity adaptation
Subitizing
Estimation
Parallel processing
Gist perception
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-76536-1
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AT xiaokezhao adaptationbiasestheparallelperceptionofsubitizednumerosities
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AT yatingli adaptationbiasestheparallelperceptionofsubitizednumerosities
AT jingguangli adaptationbiasestheparallelperceptionofsubitizednumerosities