Creating ad hoc graphical representations of number.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Psychology
• Linguistics

Background:

• Accurate number communication is vital for science, industry, and politics.
• Early numeral systems relied on one-to-one correspondence, evolving to more abstract conventions.
• Understanding initial strategies for number communication in the absence of conventional numerals is key.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the strategies humans use to communicate number when conventional numerals are unavailable.
• To analyze how communicative needs, spatial regularities, and token properties influence these strategies.
• To explore the foundational elements for innovating abstract number representations.

Main Methods:

• Three experiments involving participants creating visual representations (drawings, token combinations) of object arrays (1-16 items).
• Analysis of visual communication strategies based on communicative need, array configuration, and object properties.
• Quantification of the use of one-to-one correspondence, configural cues, and salient numerical features.

Main Results:

• Participants frequently used one-to-one representations and exploited set configurations to convey number.
• The use of configural cues intensified with larger sets and predictable spatial correlations.
• Salient numerical features of objects were adopted and combined additively.

Conclusions:

• Humans leverage external environmental correlates like shape, configuration, and one-to-one correspondence for number communication.
• These strategies serve as a basis for the development of more abstract numerical systems.
• The findings align with historical evidence on the evolution of number representation.