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Related Experiment Videos

The development of ordinal numerical knowledge in infancy.

Elizabeth M Brannon1

  • 1Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Box 90999, Durham, NC 27708-0999, USA. brannon@duke.edu

Cognition
|April 6, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Eleven-month-old infants can discern number sequence direction, unlike nine-month-olds. This suggests early number sense development, specifically understanding numerical ordinality, emerges between 9 and 11 months of age.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Development

Background:

  • Numerical cognition is a key area in cognitive science.
  • Ordinality, the understanding of 'greater than' and 'less than' relationships, is fundamental to adult number concepts.
  • Investigating the origins of numerical understanding in infants is crucial for understanding cognitive development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the developmental trajectory of numerical ordinality in human infants.
  • To identify the age at which infants can discriminate between increasing and decreasing numerical sequences.
  • To explore the relationship between non-numerical and numerical ordinal judgments in early development.

Main Methods:

  • Two experiments were conducted with 9-month-old and 11-month-old infants.
  • Infants were presented with sequences of numerosities that either increased or decreased in value.
  • A control experiment used sequences varying in object size instead of number to assess non-numerical ordinality.

Main Results:

  • Eleven-month-old infants successfully discriminated between ascending and descending numerical sequences.
  • Nine-month-old infants failed to discriminate these numerical sequences.
  • Nine-month-old infants could discriminate ordinal direction when sequences varied by object size, not number.

Conclusions:

  • The ability to understand numerical ordinality develops between 9 and 11 months of age.
  • Infants develop the capacity for non-numerical ordinal judgments before they develop numerical ordinal judgments.
  • These findings highlight critical developmental changes in infant number representation and ordinal understanding.

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