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Multimedia Battery for Assessment of Cognitive and Basic Skills in Mathematics BM-PROMA
Published on: August 28, 2021
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The relationship between numerosity discrimination and arithmetic skill reflects the approximate number system and
Stephanie A Malone1, Verena E Pritchard1, Michelle Heron-Delaney1
1Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|April 3, 2019
Summary
Numerosity discrimination tasks measure the approximate number system (ANS) and early math skills. This study found that numerosity discrimination correlates with arithmetic, supporting the ANS theory over inhibition.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Numerosity discrimination tasks are standard measures of the approximate number system (ANS).
- A recent hypothesis suggests inhibition, not the ANS, explains the link between numerosity discrimination and arithmetic skills.
- Understanding this relationship is crucial for early mathematics education and cognitive development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that response inhibition, rather than the approximate number system (ANS), underlies the relationship between numerosity discrimination and arithmetic skills.
- To investigate the role of cognitive inhibition in numerosity judgments using congruent and incongruent visual stimuli.
- To clarify the cognitive mechanisms supporting early arithmetic abilities.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 496 children (mean age 81.23 months) utilized numerosity discrimination tasks.
- Tasks included stimuli manipulating congruency between surface area and numerosity to elicit cognitive conflict.
- Latent variable path modeling was employed to analyze the relationships between numerosity judgment, inhibition, and arithmetic abilities.
Main Results:
- Numerosity discrimination was more challenging for incongruent arrays, suggesting a role for inhibition.
- All numerosity discrimination tasks demonstrated significant correlations with each other and with arithmetic performance.
- A general numerosity judgment factor remained correlated with arithmetic even after controlling for response inhibition.
Conclusions:
- The findings do not support the inhibition hypothesis for the numerosity discrimination-arithmetic link.
- Results are consistent with the view that numerosity discrimination tasks primarily engage the approximate number system (ANS).
- This reinforces the importance of the ANS in the development of early arithmetic competencies.
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