{"id":{"repo_id":"carleton","oai_identifier":"oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/44725"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/carleton/oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/44725","repository":{"repo_id":"carleton","name":"Carleton University","base_url":"https://carleton.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The Dual-Route Model of Order Judgment: Factors Influencing Task Performance and the Reverse Distance Effect","abstract":"Numbers play an integral role in everyday life. Research on basic number processing aids in understanding how people make more complex uses of numbers (e.g., mathematics). In this thesis, I explored numerical processing in number comparison and order judgment tasks. In number comparison tasks, people show a canonical distance effect (CDE): They are slower to compare numbers that are close together (e.g., 4-5) than those that are far apart (e.g., 4-9). However, when judging if sequences such as 1-2-3 or 2-1-3 are in ascending order, people are faster on sequences when the digits are close (e.g., 1-2-3) than when they are farther apart (e.g., 1-4-9). This reversal in the typical direction of the CDE is termed the reverse distance effect (RDE). People who respond quickly in number comparison tasks are also fast and accurate on arithmetic problems and show smaller CDEs. Similarly, people who respond quickly in order judgment tasks are also fast and accurate on arithmetic problems. However, the RDE size is not consistently correlated with arithmetic performance. In three experiments with adults (Ns of 67, 75, and 45), I tested a model of order judgment that accounts for order judgment task performance. I replicated the RDE in Experiments 1 and 3 and found that it depends on the presence of a few highly familiar sequences (i.e., 1-2-3 and 2-3-4) in the stimulus set (Experiment 2). I found a positive relation between arithmetic fluency and RDE size. Response times to unordered sequences showed CDEs. Finally, order judgment performance and self-reported strategy use were associated with scanpaths and with numbers of fixations, consistent with the hypothesis that order processing reflects sequence familiarity. These results support the proposed model in which order judgment performance is influenced by two processes: Activation of representations of digit associations in long-term memory and pairwise digit comparisons. These parallel processes resolve order judgments at different speeds, producing RDEs for highly familiar counting sequences and CDEs on all other sequences. These results support the view that the relation between arithmetic performance and order judgement performance is rooted in the accessibility of associations between numbers in long-term memory.","abstract_html":"Numbers play an integral role in everyday life. Research on basic number processing aids in understanding how people make more complex uses of numbers (e.g., mathematics). In this thesis, I explored numerical processing in number comparison and order judgment tasks. In number comparison tasks, people show a canonical distance effect (CDE): They are slower to compare numbers that are close together (e.g., 4-5) than those that are far apart (e.g., 4-9). However, when judging if sequences such as 1-2-3 or 2-1-3 are in ascending order, people are faster on sequences when the digits are close (e.g., 1-2-3) than when they are farther apart (e.g., 1-4-9). This reversal in the typical direction of the CDE is termed the reverse distance effect (RDE). People who respond quickly in number comparison tasks are also fast and accurate on arithmetic problems and show smaller CDEs. Similarly, people who respond quickly in order judgment tasks are also fast and accurate on arithmetic problems. However, the RDE size is not consistently correlated with arithmetic performance. In three experiments with adults (Ns of 67, 75, and 45), I tested a model of order judgment that accounts for order judgment task performance. I replicated the RDE in Experiments 1 and 3 and found that it depends on the presence of a few highly familiar sequences (i.e., 1-2-3 and 2-3-4) in the stimulus set (Experiment 2). I found a positive relation between arithmetic fluency and RDE size. Response times to unordered sequences showed CDEs. Finally, order judgment performance and self-reported strategy use were associated with scanpaths and with numbers of fixations, consistent with the hypothesis that order processing reflects sequence familiarity. These results support the proposed model in which order judgment performance is influenced by two processes: Activation of representations of digit associations in long-term memory and pairwise digit comparisons. These parallel processes resolve order judgments at different speeds, producing RDEs for highly familiar counting sequences and CDEs on all other sequences. These results support the view that the relation between arithmetic performance and order judgement performance is rooted in the accessibility of associations between numbers in long-term memory.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Vellan, James"],"institution":"Carleton University","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025","date_published":"2025","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:34:32Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright © 2025 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, distribution to students, research and scholarship. Theses may only be shared by linking to the Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be copied without proper attribution to the author; no part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["10.22215/etd/2025-16698"],"render_values":[{"text":"10.22215/etd/2025-16698","href":"https://doi.org/10.22215/etd/2025-16698","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14718/44725","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Vellan, James"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2026-01-19T15:07:26Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Carleton University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright © 2025 the author(s). 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Research on basic number processing aids in understanding how people make more complex uses of numbers (e.g., mathematics). In this thesis, I explored numerical processing in number comparison and order judgment tasks. In number comparison tasks, people show a canonical distance effect (CDE): They are slower to compare numbers that are close together (e.g., 4-5) than those that are far apart (e.g., 4-9). However, when judging if sequences such as 1-2-3 or 2-1-3 are in ascending order, people are faster on sequences when the digits are close (e.g., 1-2-3) than when they are farther apart (e.g., 1-4-9). This reversal in the typical direction of the CDE is termed the reverse distance effect (RDE). People who respond quickly in number comparison tasks are also fast and accurate on arithmetic problems and show smaller CDEs. Similarly, people who respond quickly in order judgment tasks are also fast and accurate on arithmetic problems. However, the RDE size is not consistently correlated with arithmetic performance. In three experiments with adults (Ns of 67, 75, and 45), I tested a model of order judgment that accounts for order judgment task performance. I replicated the RDE in Experiments 1 and 3 and found that it depends on the presence of a few highly familiar sequences (i.e., 1-2-3 and 2-3-4) in the stimulus set (Experiment 2). I found a positive relation between arithmetic fluency and RDE size. Response times to unordered sequences showed CDEs. Finally, order judgment performance and self-reported strategy use were associated with scanpaths and with numbers of fixations, consistent with the hypothesis that order processing reflects sequence familiarity. These results support the proposed model in which order judgment performance is influenced by two processes: Activation of representations of digit associations in long-term memory and pairwise digit comparisons. These parallel processes resolve order judgments at different speeds, producing RDEs for highly familiar counting sequences and CDEs on all other sequences. These results support the view that the relation between arithmetic performance and order judgement performance is rooted in the accessibility of associations between numbers in long-term memory."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Dual-Route Model of Order Judgment: Factors Influencing Task Performance and the Reverse Distance Effect"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Vellan, James"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2026-01-19T15:07:26Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025"],"dc:description.abstract":["Numbers play an integral role in everyday life. Research on basic number processing aids in understanding how people make more complex uses of numbers (e.g., mathematics). In this thesis, I explored numerical processing in number comparison and order judgment tasks. In number comparison tasks, people show a canonical distance effect (CDE): They are slower to compare numbers that are close together (e.g., 4-5) than those that are far apart (e.g., 4-9). However, when judging if sequences such as 1-2-3 or 2-1-3 are in ascending order, people are faster on sequences when the digits are close (e.g., 1-2-3) than when they are farther apart (e.g., 1-4-9). This reversal in the typical direction of the CDE is termed the reverse distance effect (RDE). People who respond quickly in number comparison tasks are also fast and accurate on arithmetic problems and show smaller CDEs. Similarly, people who respond quickly in order judgment tasks are also fast and accurate on arithmetic problems. However, the RDE size is not consistently correlated with arithmetic performance. In three experiments with adults (Ns of 67, 75, and 45), I tested a model of order judgment that accounts for order judgment task performance. I replicated the RDE in Experiments 1 and 3 and found that it depends on the presence of a few highly familiar sequences (i.e., 1-2-3 and 2-3-4) in the stimulus set (Experiment 2). I found a positive relation between arithmetic fluency and RDE size. Response times to unordered sequences showed CDEs. Finally, order judgment performance and self-reported strategy use were associated with scanpaths and with numbers of fixations, consistent with the hypothesis that order processing reflects sequence familiarity. These results support the proposed model in which order judgment performance is influenced by two processes: Activation of representations of digit associations in long-term memory and pairwise digit comparisons. These parallel processes resolve order judgments at different speeds, producing RDEs for highly familiar counting sequences and CDEs on all other sequences. These results support the view that the relation between arithmetic performance and order judgement performance is rooted in the accessibility of associations between numbers in long-term memory."],"dc:identifier.doi":["10.22215/etd/2025-16698"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14718/44725"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Carleton University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright © 2025 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, distribution to students, research and scholarship. Theses may only be shared by linking to the Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be copied without proper attribution to the author; no part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner."],"dc:title":["The Dual-Route Model of Order Judgment: Factors Influencing Task Performance and the Reverse Distance Effect"],"dc:type":["thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:34:32Z"}