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Exploring size-action and number-action associations in infancy
Gisella Decarli1, Ludovica Veggiotti2, Maria Dolores de Hevia2
1Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Italy.
Infant Behavior & Development
|October 1, 2025
Summary
Seven-month-old infants show early sensitivity to number-action and size-action mappings. This study reveals infants can connect numerical quantities and object sizes with specific actions, demonstrating early cognitive development in action processing.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Development
- Developmental Psychology
- Infant Perception
Background:
- Growing research links numerical and action processing.
- Limited exploration in early developmental stages.
- Need to investigate number-action mapping in infancy.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate number-action mapping in infancy using a novel action.
- Examine size-action and quantity-action mappings in infants.
- Understand early cognitive links between perception and action.
Main Methods:
- Habituation technique used with 7-month-old infants.
- Experiment 1: Infants viewed actions towards objects of different sizes.
- Experiment 2: Infants viewed actions towards objects of different quantities.
Main Results:
- Infants demonstrated sensitivity to congruency between actions and object attributes.
- Evidence for early size-action mapping found.
- Evidence for early quantity-action mapping found.
Conclusions:
- Infants possess early number-action and size-action mappings.
- Highlights the early integration of numerical cognition and action.
- Suggests foundational abilities for later complex cognitive functions.
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