PBR-ANS_preprint.pdf (601.34 kB)
Non-verbal number acuity correlates with symbolic mathematics achievement: but only in children
journal contribution
posted on 2011-11-29, 14:14 authored by Matthew InglisMatthew Inglis, Nina Attridge, Sophie Batchelor, Camilla GilmoreCamilla GilmoreThe process by which adults develop competence in symbolic mathematics tasks is poorly understood. Nonhuman animals, human infants, and human adults all form nonverbal representations of the approximate numerosity of arrays of dots and are capable of using these representations to perform basic mathematical operations. Several researchers have speculated that individual differences in the acuity of such nonverbal number representations provide the basis for individual differences in symbolic mathematical competence. Specifically, prior research has found that 14-year-old children’s ability to rapidly compare the numerosities of two sets of colored dots is correlated with their mathematics achievements at ages 5–11. In the present study, we demonstrated that although when measured concurrently the same relationship holds in children, it does not hold in adults. We conclude that the association between nonverbal number acuity and mathematics achievement changes with age and that nonverbal number representations do not hold the key to explaining the wide variety of mathematical performance levels in adults.
History
School
- Science
Department
- Mathematics Education Centre
Published in
Psychonomic Bulletin & ReviewVolume
18Pages
1222 - 1229Citation
INGLIS, M. ... et al, 2011. Non-verbal number acuity correlates with symbolic mathematics achievement: but only in children. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 18 (6), pp. 1222-1229Publisher
Springer © Psychonomic Society, Inc.Version
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Publication date
2011Notes
This article was published in the journal, Psychonomic Bulletin and Review [Springer © Psychonomic Society, Inc.]. The final publication is available at www.springerlink.com.ISSN
1069-9384Publisher version
Language
- en
Administrator link
Usage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedLicence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC