Enumeration Processes under Attack: The Role of Working Memory in Subitizing and Serial Counting

Enumeration of visual stimuli is supported by two, or more, distinct psychological processes. 1) Serial counting, an effortful, slow, and controlled process that is engaged when counting relatively large sets of objects (more than 4). 

Reaction time (RT) slope forserial counting increases linearly, as the number of items increases RT increases as well. 2) Subitizing is a fast and accurate assessment of small quantities, the subitizing range is between 1 to 3 (or 4) items. As opposed to serial counting, RT barely increases (100 ms per item) as items increase within the subitizing range, and therefore, the slope remains relatively flat. Serial counting is more complex compared to subitizing and involves many processes including: individualization and localization of objects, switching spatial attention from one object to the other, summing the number of objects and inhibition of already summed objects. Read more>>>>>>>>>