Symbolic number abilities predict later approximate number system acuity in preschool children

PLoS One. 2014 Mar 17;9(3):e91839. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091839. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

An ongoing debate in research on numerical cognition concerns the extent to which the approximate number system and symbolic number knowledge influence each other during development. The current study aims at establishing the direction of the developmental association between these two kinds of abilities at an early age. Fifty-seven children of 3-4 years performed two assessments at 7 months interval. In each assessment, children's precision in discriminating numerosities as well as their capacity to manipulate number words and Arabic digits was measured. By comparing relationships between pairs of measures across the two time points, we were able to assess the predictive direction of the link. Our data indicate that both cardinality proficiency and symbolic number knowledge predict later accuracy in numerosity comparison whereas the reverse links are not significant. The present findings are the first to provide longitudinal evidence that the early acquisition of symbolic numbers is an important precursor in the developmental refinement of the approximate number representation system.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Achievement*
  • Age Factors
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cognition*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mathematical Concepts*
  • Models, Theoretical

Grants and funding

The first author is supported by a grant from the National Fund for Scientific Research (Belgium). The authors declare no conflict of interest that might be interpreted as influencing the research, and APA ethical standards were followed in the conduct of the study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.