Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-jr42d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-20T03:49:10.584Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A spatial perspective on numerical concepts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2008

Martin H. Fischer
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Dundee, DD1 4HN, Scotland, United Kingdomm.h.fischer@dundee.ac.ukr.mills@dundee.ac.ukhttp://www.dundee.ac.uk/psychology/mhfischer/
Richard A. Mills
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Dundee, DD1 4HN, Scotland, United Kingdomm.h.fischer@dundee.ac.ukr.mills@dundee.ac.ukhttp://www.dundee.ac.uk/psychology/mhfischer/

Abstract

The reliable covariation between numerosity and spatial extent is considered as a strong constraint for inferring the successor principle in numerical cognition. We suggest that children can derive a general number concept from the (experientially) infinite succession of spatial positions during object manipulation.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Dehaene, S., Bossini, S. & Giraux, P. (1993) The mental representation of parity and number magnitude. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 122(3):371–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fias, W., Brysbaert, M., Geypens, F. & d'Ydewalle, G. (1996) The importance of magnitude information in number processing: Evidence from the SNARC effect. Mathematical Cognition 2:95110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fischer, M. H. (2001) Number processing induces spatial performance biases. Neurology 57(5):822–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fischer, M. H. (2008) Finger counting habits modulate spatial-numerical associations. Cortex 44:386–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fischer, M. H. & Mills, R. A. (submitted) How to cook a SNARC: Number placement in a text rapidly changes spatial-numerical associations.Google Scholar
Galton, F. (1880) Visualised numerals. Nature 21:252–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Opfer, J. E. & Thompson, C. A. (2006) Even early representations of numerical magnitude are spatially organized: Evidence for a directional magnitude bias in pre-reading preschoolers. In: Proceedings of the XXVIII Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, ed. Sun, R. & Miyaki, N., pp. 639–44. Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Pinhas, M. & Fischer, M. H. (in press) Momentum without magnitude: The Operational Momentum effect in symbolic arithmetic. Cognition.Google Scholar
Wood, G., Nuerk, H.-C., Willmes, K. & Fischer, M. H. (in press) On the cognitive link between space and number: A meta-analysis of the SNARC Effect. Psychology Science.Google Scholar