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Whorf reloaded: language effects on nonverbal number processing in first grade--a trilingual study
S Pixner1, K Moeller, V Hermanova
1Division of Psychology, Department for Human and Economic Sciences, UMIT-The Health and Life Sciences University, 6060 Hall in Tirol, Austria. silvia.pixner@umit.at
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|November 2, 2010
Summary
Language impacts how children understand numbers. German-speaking children showed a stronger unit-decade compatibility effect, suggesting number word transparency influences place value processing and number sense development.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
Background:
- The unit-decade compatibility effect in number magnitude comparisons is linked to place value integration.
- Understanding how language influences this effect is crucial for cognitive development research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of linguistic properties on the unit-decade compatibility effect in Arabic two-digit numbers.
- To compare this effect in Austrian, Italian, and Czech first graders.
Main Methods:
- Children performed two-digit number magnitude comparisons using Arabic numerals.
- The study analyzed accuracy and response times.
- Cross-linguistic comparison of number word systems (German, Italian, Czech) was central.
Main Results:
- German-speaking children exhibited the most pronounced unit-decade compatibility effect in both accuracy and speed.
- Italian and Czech children showed less pronounced effects, correlating with number word transparency.
- Results indicate a detrimental influence of opaque number word systems on place value processing.
Conclusions:
- Linguistic properties of number words significantly impact early place value processing.
- The findings support a weak Whorfian hypothesis, suggesting language influences even non-verbal numerical cognition in children.
- Transparent number word systems facilitate more efficient numerical processing.
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