Symbolic number: The integration of magnitude and spatial representations in children aged 6 to 8 years.

The process of learning symbolic Arabic digits in early childhood requires that magnitude and spatial information integrates with the concept of symbolic digits. Previous research has separately investigated the development of automatic access to magnitude and spatial information from symbolic digit...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sonia eWhite, Denes eSzucs, Fruzsina eSoltesz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2012-01-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00392/full
_version_ 1828158862707916800
author Sonia eWhite
Sonia eWhite
Denes eSzucs
Fruzsina eSoltesz
author_facet Sonia eWhite
Sonia eWhite
Denes eSzucs
Fruzsina eSoltesz
author_sort Sonia eWhite
collection DOAJ
description The process of learning symbolic Arabic digits in early childhood requires that magnitude and spatial information integrates with the concept of symbolic digits. Previous research has separately investigated the development of automatic access to magnitude and spatial information from symbolic digits. However, developmental trajectories of symbolic number knowledge cannot be fully understood when considering components in isolation. In view of this, we have synthesized the existing lines of research and tested the use of both magnitude and spatial information with the same sample of British children in Years 1, 2 and 3 (6-8 years of age). The physical judgment task of the numerical Stroop paradigm (NSP) demonstrated that automatic access to magnitude was present from Year 1 and the distance effect signaled that a refined processing of numerical information had developed. Additionally, a parity judgment task showed that the onset of the Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect occurs in Year 2. These findings uncover the developmental timeline of how magnitude and spatial representations integrate with symbolic number knowledge during early learning of Arabic digits and resolve inconsistencies between previous developmental and experimental research lines.
first_indexed 2024-04-11T23:51:14Z
format Article
id doaj.art-9d78762064ec449596575a0af500969c
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1664-1078
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-11T23:51:14Z
publishDate 2012-01-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Psychology
spelling doaj.art-9d78762064ec449596575a0af500969c2022-12-22T03:56:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782012-01-01210.3389/fpsyg.2011.0039212146Symbolic number: The integration of magnitude and spatial representations in children aged 6 to 8 years.Sonia eWhite0Sonia eWhite1Denes eSzucs2Fruzsina eSoltesz3University of CambridgeQueensland University of TechnologyUniversity of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe process of learning symbolic Arabic digits in early childhood requires that magnitude and spatial information integrates with the concept of symbolic digits. Previous research has separately investigated the development of automatic access to magnitude and spatial information from symbolic digits. However, developmental trajectories of symbolic number knowledge cannot be fully understood when considering components in isolation. In view of this, we have synthesized the existing lines of research and tested the use of both magnitude and spatial information with the same sample of British children in Years 1, 2 and 3 (6-8 years of age). The physical judgment task of the numerical Stroop paradigm (NSP) demonstrated that automatic access to magnitude was present from Year 1 and the distance effect signaled that a refined processing of numerical information had developed. Additionally, a parity judgment task showed that the onset of the Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect occurs in Year 2. These findings uncover the developmental timeline of how magnitude and spatial representations integrate with symbolic number knowledge during early learning of Arabic digits and resolve inconsistencies between previous developmental and experimental research lines.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00392/fullspatial representationmagnitude representationnumerical Stroop paradigmspatial-numerical association of response codessymbolic representation
spellingShingle Sonia eWhite
Sonia eWhite
Denes eSzucs
Fruzsina eSoltesz
Symbolic number: The integration of magnitude and spatial representations in children aged 6 to 8 years.
Frontiers in Psychology
spatial representation
magnitude representation
numerical Stroop paradigm
spatial-numerical association of response codes
symbolic representation
title Symbolic number: The integration of magnitude and spatial representations in children aged 6 to 8 years.
title_full Symbolic number: The integration of magnitude and spatial representations in children aged 6 to 8 years.
title_fullStr Symbolic number: The integration of magnitude and spatial representations in children aged 6 to 8 years.
title_full_unstemmed Symbolic number: The integration of magnitude and spatial representations in children aged 6 to 8 years.
title_short Symbolic number: The integration of magnitude and spatial representations in children aged 6 to 8 years.
title_sort symbolic number the integration of magnitude and spatial representations in children aged 6 to 8 years
topic spatial representation
magnitude representation
numerical Stroop paradigm
spatial-numerical association of response codes
symbolic representation
url http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00392/full
work_keys_str_mv AT soniaewhite symbolicnumbertheintegrationofmagnitudeandspatialrepresentationsinchildrenaged6to8years
AT soniaewhite symbolicnumbertheintegrationofmagnitudeandspatialrepresentationsinchildrenaged6to8years
AT deneseszucs symbolicnumbertheintegrationofmagnitudeandspatialrepresentationsinchildrenaged6to8years
AT fruzsinaesoltesz symbolicnumbertheintegrationofmagnitudeandspatialrepresentationsinchildrenaged6to8years