The role of cognitive control in the SNARC effect: A review

Abstract The spatial‐numerical association of response codes (SNARC) effect, in which people respond to small numbers faster with the left hand and to large numbers faster with the right hand, is a popular topic in cognitive psychology. Some well‐known theoretical accounts explaining this effect include the mental number line model, polarity correspondence principle, dual‐route model, and working memory account. However, these fail to explain the finding that the size of the SNARC effect is modulated by cognitive control. Here, we propose a new account—a cognitive control‐based view of the SNARC effect. This view argues that the SNARC effect is fundamentally determined by cognitive control in resolving conflicts during stimulus–response mapping. Several subcomponents of cognitive control, such as working memory, mental or task set shifting, inhibition control, and conflict adaptation, can easily modulate the SNARC effect. The cognitive control‐based view can account for the flexible SNARC effect observed in diverse task situations while providing new insight into its mechanism.