Perceptual characteristics of mathematical equations may influence solvers' problem solving. For example, in a study of equations involving addition and multiplication, Landy and Goldstone (2010) showed that participants tended to perform narrowly spaced operations first, suggesting that spacing affects how symbols are grouped for problem solving. Building on this past work, we examined whether perceptual factors affect participants' interpretations of the minus sign. In an experiment with undergraduates, we manipulated the spacing of the operands and the position of the minus sign relative to its neighboring operands. Both the operands' spacing and the position of the minus sign affected performance. These results hold implications for the processing of symbolic representations and for mathematics education. [For the complete proceedings, see ED584443.]