Integers do not automatically activate their quantity representation

Researchers have generally come to the conclusion that integers automatically activate the quantity they symbolize and that this quantity dominates responding. I conducted a strong test of this hypothesis with two numerical same/different experiments. On each trial, I presented the participant an integer between 1 and 9 and asked him or her to identify whether that symbol was a 5. If quantity information dominates responding, participants’ reaction times (RTs) should be a function of the numerical distance between the target and the distractor. If quantity information is not activated, the integer is merely a shape, and participants’ RTs should be a function of the physical similarity of the target and the distractor. The data from Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrate that quantity information exerts no control and that physical similarity is the primary controlling factor. These findings demonstrate that integers maintain a level of independence from their quantity representations.