Probing the mechanisms underlying numerosity-to-numeral mappings and their relation to math competence

Yeo, Darren J.; Price, Gavin R.

doi:10.1007/s00426-020-01299-z

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 97 publications

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“…First, although worse than number estimation, children as young as five were able to successfully map completely novel units to their perception of length and area. Since these novel units could not have had a previously established associative mapping, this implies that children who have formed an interface between number words and the ANS can readily form novel structural mappings with other perceptual dimensions as well, contrary to some theories that argue that associative mappings are pre-requisites for structure mappings to form (Yeo & Price, 2020). Moreover, how consistent children were in their structure mappings in any dimension predicted their ability to maintain those mappings in other dimensions, as demonstrated by the correlations in estimation variability across number, length, and area.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…This is even more remarkable when considering that children had potentially competing associative mappings for number that had to be inhibited (e.g., a strong link between word "one" and 1 item), and that the youngest children in our study have not yet been formally taught how to multiply or divide. This powerfully demonstrates the importance of mechanisms akin to structure mapping that must underlie at least part of the interface between number words and perceptual magnitudes, and that robust associative links are not necessary for this interface (Yeo & Price, 2020), as children were able to rapidly and spontaneously generate estimates for novel units and uncommon target values.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Finally, if estimation performance is primarily predicted by the ability to align, and maintain alignment between, perceptual states and number words (Sullivan & Barner, 2013;Yeo & Price, 2020), we should find that estimation performance should strongly correlate across number, length, and area. That is, we should find that how well a child is able to structure map (i.e., to maintain an interface between perception and number words) in one perceptual magnitude correlates with how well they are able to do this for other perceptual magnitudes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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How children interface number words with perceptual magnitudes

Dramkin¹,

Odic²

2020

Preprint

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How do children map symbolic number words to continuous and noisy perceptual magnitudes? We explore how 5- to 12-year-olds attach novel units to number, length, and area by examining whether verbal estimation performance is primarily predicted by access to number words, the precision of children’s underlying perceptual systems, or a more general process in structurally aligning number words with perceptual magnitudes. We find that from age five onward, children can readily form novel mappings between number words and perceptual magnitudes, including dimensions they have no experience estimating in (e.g., length, area), and even when faced with completely novel units (e.g., mapping a collection of three dots to “one” unit for number). Additionally, estimation performance was poorly predicted by the noise in their underlying perceptual magnitudes and number word access. Instead, we show that individual differences in children’s abilities to translate continuous perceptual signals into discrete categories underlie verbal estimation performance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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How children interface number words with perceptual magnitudes

Dramkin¹,

Odic²

2020

Preprint

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“…These studies suggest that both numerosity comparison and verbal numerical estimation, as well as ANSnumber word mapping, may be important for acquisition of math abilities (Libertus et al, 2016). However, evidence from adult studies is not as clear cut as that found in developmental studies; many studies have pointed out that the relationship is inconsistently observed in adults (Yeo et al, 2019;Yeo and Price, 2021). For example, there is evidence that ANS acuity indirectly reflects only certain domains of math achievement in adults (Inglis et al, 2011;Patalano et al, 2015;Cho, 2016, 2018).Scholars have pointed out that a possible reason for the mixed results might be that different tasks have been used to measure both ANS ability and mathematics achievement (Lindskog et al, 2013;Prather, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerosity Comparison, Estimation and Proportion Estimation Abilities May Predict Numeracy and Cognitive Reflection in Adults

Tokita

Hirota

2021

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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This study explores whether and how different tasks associated with approximate number system (ANS) ability are related to numeracy and cognitive reflection in adults. We conducted an online experiment using a sample of 300 Japanese adults aged 20–39. Participants were given three ANS tasks (numerosity comparison, numerosity estimation, and proportion estimation) as well as Rasch-based numeracy scale and cognitive reflection test, and we tested the correlation among the measures of these tasks. We explored the hypothesis that the typical measures used to gauge ANS ability, numerosity comparison and numerosity estimation may mediate different cognitive mechanisms in adults. We also introduced a task measuring proportion estimation, added because such estimation requires numerosity perception and the ability to map symbolic numerals. Our findings suggest that there is a weak, but significant correlation among the three ANS-related tasks. Moreover, there is a significant relationship between each of these measures and the numeracy and CRT score, suggesting that the ANS-related ability may be associated with higher cognitive abilities such as numeracy and cognitive reflection. In addition, we found that performances on the numerosity and proportion estimation are more clearly related to CRT score than the numerosity comparison task.

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“…Numerical mapping occurs when children mentally translate between symbolic and non‐symbolic representations of number (Brankaer et al, 2014; Mundy & Gilmore, 2009). Efficient estimation of the number of items in a set arguably indicates the quality of the numerical mapping between the numerosity of a dot array group with its symbolic Arabic numeral equivalent (Yeo & Price, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between numerical mapping abilities, maths achievement and socioeconomic status in 4‐ and 5‐year‐old children

Short

McLean

2023

Brit J of Edu Psychol

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Background: Early numeracy skills are associated with academic and life-long outcomes. Children from low-income backgrounds typically have poorer maths outcomes, and their learning can already be disadvantaged before they begin formal schooling. Understanding the relationship between the skills that support the acquisition of early maths skills could scaffold maths learning and improve life chances. Aims: The present study aimed to examine how the ability of children from different SES backgrounds to map between symbolic (Arabic numerals) and non-symbolic (dot arrays) at two difficulty ratios related to their math performance. Sample: Participants were 398 children in their first year of formal schooling (Mean age = 60 months), and 75% were from low SES backgrounds. Method: The children completed symbolic to non-symbolic and non-symbolic to symbolic mapping tasks at two difficulty ratios (1:2; 2:3) plus standardized maths tasks. Results:The results showed that all the children performed better for symbolic to non-symbolic mapping and when the ratio was 1:2. Mapping task performance was significantly related to maths task achievement, but low-SES children showed significantly lower performance on all tasks. Conclusion:The results suggest that mapping tasks could be a useful way to identify children at risk of low maths attainment.

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Probing the mechanisms underlying numerosity-to-numeral mappings and their relation to math competence

Cited by 4 publications

References 97 publications

How children interface number words with perceptual magnitudes

How children interface number words with perceptual magnitudes

Numerosity Comparison, Estimation and Proportion Estimation Abilities May Predict Numeracy and Cognitive Reflection in Adults

The relationship between numerical mapping abilities, maths achievement and socioeconomic status in 4‐ and 5‐year‐old children

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