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Perception of numbers by human infants
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|November 28, 1980
Summary
Infants can recognize small quantities before learning to count. This innate number sense, likely due to subitizing, suggests early precursors to verbal counting skills in babies.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Development
- Developmental Psychology
- Infant Cognition
Background:
- Infants demonstrate abilities in discriminating, representing, and remembering small quantities.
- Early number sense is a key area in understanding cognitive development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the presence of numerical abilities in infants prior to verbal counting.
- To explore the role of subitizing as a potential precursor to numerical cognition.
Main Methods:
- Observational studies on infant numerical discrimination.
- Analysis of cognitive processes underlying quantity representation in pre-verbal infants.
Main Results:
- Infants possess the capacity to process and recall small numerosities.
- Subitizing, a perceptual enumeration skill, is likely active in 2-year-olds and may underlie infant numerical abilities.
Conclusions:
- Numerical competence exists in infants before the development of verbal counting.
- Early perceptual abilities, such as subitizing, may serve as foundational precursors for later mathematical understanding.