How the Human Mind Grounds Numerical Quantities on Space

AbstractThe propensity to use a spatial framework to organize other pieces of information is a widespread phenomenon that permeates humans ’ representation of diverse concepts, including numerical quantities. Developmental studies on numerical cognition have revealed that humans possess a system for abstract quantity representation that is functional at birth and connects to a spatial representation system. Human infants, children, a nd adults link increases and decreases in numerical quantity to corresponding increases and decreases of spatial extent, as well as to lateralized right/left spatial positions, respectively. In this article, I discuss the origins of number‐space mappings, their presence throughout development, and their functional properties. I also argue that number‐space mappings reflect inborn biases, possibly shared across other species, that support both efficient magnitude processing and serial learning.
Source: Child Development Perspectives - Category: Child Development Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research