How Numbers Bias Preschoolers’ Spatial Search

Abstract

Numbers often bias adults' spatial performance. Because the direction of this bias (left-to-right versus right-to-left) is culture-specific, it has been assumed that spatial-numeric associations develop with reading practice or schooling. The authors tested this assumption by examining spatial-numeric associations in pre-reading preschoolers. Preschoolers were shown two boxes (sample and matching boxes) subdivided into seven verbally numbered "rooms" (e.g., "the four room"). A "winner" card was revealed in the sample box, and children searched for the "winner" in the matching box (located in the same-numbered room). Preschoolers were faster and more accurate when rooms increased numerically from left-to-right versus right-to-left. This advantage was apparently caused by numbers influencing preschoolers' encoding of spatial locations: Ordering of numbers in the sample box affected preschoolers' search greatly, whereas ordering of numbers in the matching box did not. The authors conclude that numeric effects on spatial encoding develop far too early to be caused by reading practice or schooling.

Development of spatial preferences for counting and picture naming

“…First, we found clear directional spatial-numerical associations at an early age: In both FCT and CCT all children started counting either with the left thumb/candle or with the right thumb/ candle, never at any other finger/position. This observation is in line with previous studies (Briars & Siegler, 1984;Opfer & Furlong, 2011;Opfer & Thompson, 2006;Opfer et al, 2010;Sato & Lalain, 2008;Shaki et al, 2012).…”

“…When tested against chance individually, only 6-year-olds were found to count the candles significantly more often from the left than from the right side. Surprisingly, and despite comparable sample sizes, this is not in line with the results reported by Opfer and Thomson (2006), Opfer et al (2010), Opfer and Furlong (2011). Next to the beneficial effect of a left-to-right ordering of numbers in their search task, they reported 73 % of preschoolers as well as 98 % (Opfer & Thompson, 2006) and 73 % (Opfer & Furlong, 2011) of 4-year-old children to reliably count items from left-to-right.…”

“…Surprisingly, and despite comparable sample sizes, this is not in line with the results reported by Opfer and Thomson (2006), Opfer et al (2010), Opfer and Furlong (2011). Next to the beneficial effect of a left-to-right ordering of numbers in their search task, they reported 73 % of preschoolers as well as 98 % (Opfer & Thompson, 2006) and 73 % (Opfer & Furlong, 2011) of 4-year-old children to reliably count items from left-to-right. In contrast, only 56 % of the 3-to 6-year-old preschoolers in the present study started counting the candles left-to-right, with a reliable shift towards a left-toright orientation at only 6 years of age.…”

“…For example, Opfer, Thompson, and Furlong (2010) and Opfer and Furlong (2011) showed 4-year-old children two rows of boxes (sample and matching arrays) with seven numbered compartments each. Subsequently, a winner card was revealed from one of the compartments in the sample array and the children had to bring out the card in the same numbered compartment in the matching array.…”

Playing Reading, Using Hands: Which Activities are Linked to Number-Space Processing in Preschool Children?

“…leftmost, rightmost) and an ordinal numerical position (1 st , 2 nd ,…). This mapping usually proceeds from left to right in Western cultures, similarly to SNARC-like effects (Opfer & Furlong, 2011;Opfer & Thompson, 2006;Opfer et al, 2010;Shaki et al, 2012). However, in contrast to this first category of SNA, the ordinal countingbased SNA already requires some basic numerical knowledge: A child should know at least a few numerals from a counting list, and also certain counting rules like one-to-one correspondence between objects and number words (Gelman & Gallistel, 1978).…”