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Conscious and Unconscious Processes in the Arithmetic Priming Task Depend on the Arithmetic Skill

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Abstract

The study examined the role of conscious and unconscious processes depending on the level of arithmetic skill. The participants were divided into two groups according to their arithmetic skill based on the calculation fluency test results. Masked and unmasked single-digit addition problems (primes) followed by correct and incorrect results were presented on the screen. In a conscious perception task (unmasked priming), when large and small problem results were presented, an arithmetic N400 and LPC effects were observed in both groups. In the case of unconscious perception (masked priming), when small problem results were presented, the LPC effect was observed in the group with low arithmetic skill. The fact that the LPC arithmetic effect was discovered during the unconscious presentation may indicate the automatic nature of the encoding and retrieving information processes, reflecting neurophysiological characteristics associated with the level of arithmetic skill.

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Funding

This work was funded by Russian Science Foundation grant no. 23-78-01220, https://rscf.ru/project/23-78-01220/. No additional grants were received to conduct or supervise this particular study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia

    V. M. Knyazeva, N. V. Polyakova, D. G. Fedorov, D. D. Sitnikova & A. A. Aleksandrov

Authors
  1. V. M. Knyazeva
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  2. N. V. Polyakova
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  3. D. G. Fedorov
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  4. D. D. Sitnikova
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  5. A. A. Aleksandrov
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Contributions

Idea of the study and planning of the experiment (A.A.A., V.M.K., N.V.P.), design of the experimental methodology (A.A.A., V.M.K., N.V.P., D.G.F.), data collection (V.M.K., N.V.P., D.G.F., D.D.S.), data processing (V.M.K., D.D.S.), manuscript writing and editing (V.M.K., A.A.A., N.V.P., D.G.F., D.D.S.).

Corresponding author

Correspondence to V. M. Knyazeva.

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ETHICS APPROVAL AND CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE

All studies were conducted in accordance with the principles of biomedical ethics set forth in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its subsequent amendments. They were also approved by the Ethical Committee of the St. Petersburg Psychological Society in the field of research involving human participants (protocol no. 25 of October 26, 2023).

Each participant of the study gave voluntary written informed consent after receiving explanations about potential risks and benefits, as well as the nature of the upcoming research.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors of this work declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Translated by A. Dyomina

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Knyazeva, V.M., Polyakova, N.V., Fedorov, D.G. et al. Conscious and Unconscious Processes in the Arithmetic Priming Task Depend on the Arithmetic Skill. J Evol Biochem Phys 60, 780–791 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0022093024020261

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