Factoring in the spatial effects of symbolic number representation

•Investigation of interdependence of Size congruity, SNARC, and numerical distance effect.•A factorial design encompassing all three effects, combined with EEG measurement, comparing across identical visual stimuli.•All effects relating to spatial associations of symbolic numbers appear at an early stage of processing (P1).•Independence of size congruity and SNARC effects a matter of hemispheric specialization. Spatial constituents of adult symbolic number representation produce effects of size-value congruity, Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC), and numerical distance. According to behavioral experiments, these effects belong to distinct processing stages. Yet, these effects evoke overlapping responses in both early and late Event Related Potentials (ERPs). To probe whether these overlaps indicate sharing of resources, all relevant stimulus and response conditions were factorially combined in a numerical value comparison task. To secure ERP validity, same numbers were compared against variable reference values. This design resulted in previously unobserved interactions in behavior but inhibited late ERP effects. All effects arose early in the P1 component (around 100 ms) and most showed hemispheric specificity. Independency of congruity and SNARC effects was observed, whereas SNARC and numerical distance were closely intertwined. Differences in hemispheric specificity, rather than stage-wise separation, were key to independence.