Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Pairwise magnitude comparison requires participants to evaluate the relative magnitude of two simultaneously presented numerical stimuli, and performance is commonly indexed by the numerical distance effect. Whether this relative-magnitude processing is accompanied by spatial compatibility for the conventional small-left/large-right arrangement remains less clear, especially when left–right response selection is minimized. The present study examined numerical distance effects and stimulus-arrangement compatibility in a pairwise go/no-go magnitude-comparison task. Across two experiments, participants viewed two numerical stimuli, one on the left and one on the right, and made a single central response only when the task-relevant number appeared in the instructed spatial position. Experiment 1 used Arabic digits, whereas Experiment 2 used Turkish number words. In both experiments, participants completed either a small-number or a large-number task. Robust numerical distance effects were observed in both experiments and task versions, indicating reliable access to relative numerical magnitude. In contrast, evidence for stimulus-arrangement compatibility was limited and task-dependent. This arrangement did not produce a general response-time advantage, and any compatibility-related patterns were limited to the small-number task. These findings suggest that pairwise go/no-go comparison reliably engages relative-magnitude processing without necessarily producing stable or general small-left/large-right compatibility. The results support a distinction between access to relative magnitude and the behavioral expression of arrangement-based spatial compatibility under specific task configurations.</p>