Measuring toddlers non-symbolic number processing

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.31234/osf.io/v835g ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Marcus Lindskog ◽

Victoria Simms

Keyword(s):

Young Children ◽

Poor Performance ◽

Number Processing ◽

Mathematical Ability ◽

Comparison Task ◽

Number Concepts ◽

Processing Task ◽

Number Concept ◽

Verbal Instructions ◽

Symbolic Number

Much research has investigated children’s non-symbolic number processing and its relation to mathematical ability. However, surprisingly few studies have investigated performance in 18-36 month-olds, where symbolic number concepts begin to emerge, and the extent results indicate poor performance. We tested 74 2 - 3.5 year-olds recruited from two sites (Ulster and Uppsala). They completed a novel dot-comparison task where children were shown, but not verbally instructed, how pushing a more numerous array resulted in reward and a Give-N task. Overall, participants performed above chance on the dot comparison task, indicating that non-symbolic number processing skills can be measured in toddlers without verbal instructions. We found no relation between performance on the non-symbolic number processing task and knower-level. Our results warrant two conclusions. First, verbal instructions involving the concept of more are not necessary to measure non-symbolic number processing skills in young children. Second, the development of a symbolic number concept seems independent of the development of non-symbolic comparison skills but may become artificially related when researchers use quantifiers such as “more” to measure the former.

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Neural Correlates of Symbolic Number Comparison in Developmental Dyscalculia

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn.2009.21237 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 22 (5) ◽

pp. 860-874 ◽

Cited By ~ 111

Author(s):

Christophe Mussolin ◽

Anne De Volder ◽

Cécile Grandin ◽

Xavier Schlögel ◽

Marie-Cécile Nassogne ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Number Processing ◽

Numerical Distance ◽

Comparison Task ◽

Developmental Dyscalculia ◽

Disability History ◽

Magnitude Processing ◽

Number Magnitude ◽

Number Comparison ◽

The Right ◽

Symbolic Number

Developmental dyscalculia (DD) is a deficit in number processing and arithmetic that affects 3–6% of schoolchildren. The goal of the present study was to analyze cerebral bases of DD related to symbolic number processing. Children with DD aged 9–11 years and matched children with no learning disability history were investigated using fMRI. The two groups of children were controlled for general cognitive factors, such as working memory, reading abilities, or IQ. Brain activations were measured during a number comparison task on pairs of Arabic numerals and a color comparison task on pairs of nonnumerical symbols. In each task, pairs of stimuli that were close or far on the relevant dimension were constituted. Brain activation in bilateral intraparietal sulcus (IPS) was modulated by numerical distance in controls but not in children with DD. Moreover, although the right IPS responded to numerical distance only, the left IPS was influenced by both numerical and color distances in control children. Our findings suggest that dyscalculia is associated with impairment in areas involved in number magnitude processing and, to a lesser extent, in areas dedicated to domain-general magnitude processing.

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Disciplining Young Children: The Role of Verbal Instructions and Reasoning

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.96.2.336 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 96 (2) ◽

pp. 336-341

Author(s):

Nathan J. Blum ◽

George E. Williams ◽

Patrick C. Friman ◽

Edward R. Christophersen

Keyword(s):

Young Children ◽

Problem Behaviors ◽

Preschool Age ◽

Verbal Reasoning ◽

Behavioral Psychology ◽

Children's Behavior ◽

Verbal Instructions ◽

Oppositional Behaviors ◽

Preschool Age Children

Pediatricians are often asked to advise parents who are having difficulty managing the oppositional behaviors of their toddlers and preschool-age children. A large number of articles provide advice to pediatricians and parents on effective disciplinary strategies. However, despite the fact that verbal explanations, reasoning, and instructions are commonly used by parents, few articles directly address the use of these strategies to affect children's behavior. In this paper, we review studies that explicitly investigate the ability of adults' verbal explanations or instructions to alter the behavior of young children. These studies suggest that under most circumstances, verbal explanations and instructions are not effective in changing young children's problem behaviors. We then discuss how theories in developmental and behavioral psychology help explain the limitations of using verbal reasoning and instructions to change young children's problem behaviors. Finally, we provide some recommendations for parents on the use of verbal explanations and instructions in disciplining young children.

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