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Do picture books affect counting directionality in preliterate children? Developmental course and potential
Julio Santiago1, Ana Jiménez1, Laura Rivera1
1Mind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center, University of Granada, Spain.
Abstract:
Why the number line in preliterate children is already consistent with the direction of the script? Here we aimed to 1) show that being read a mirror-printed picture book is able to change lateral biases in counting; 2) trace the development of preliterate biases; and 3) test the role of mental model construction processes. Spanish-speaking 3 and 4 year-olds (N = 155, white, 87 female) carried out a task of counting a row of objects and a task in which they built a toy scene before and after being exposed to a mirror-reversed storybook. The left-to-right or right-to-left directionality of their responses was recorded. Only the older group showed pre-test lateral biases. The mirror book changed the lateral biases in counting, and induced a congruent, but smaller change in the model construction task. The two tasks did not correlate, against the implication of shared mechanisms in them.
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