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Children’s Non-symbolic and Symbolic Numerical Representations and Their Associations With Mathematical Ability

Most empirical evidence supports the view that non-symbolic and symbolic representations are foundations for advanced mathematical ability. However, the detailed development trajectories of these two types of representations in childhood are not very clear, nor are the different effects of non-symbo...

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Autores principales: Li, Yanjun, Zhang, Meng, Chen, Yinghe, Deng, Zhijun, Zhu, Xiaoshuang, Yan, Shijia
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6026675/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29988580
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01035
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author Li, Yanjun
Zhang, Meng
Chen, Yinghe
Deng, Zhijun
Zhu, Xiaoshuang
Yan, Shijia
author_facet Li, Yanjun
Zhang, Meng
Chen, Yinghe
Deng, Zhijun
Zhu, Xiaoshuang
Yan, Shijia
author_sort Li, Yanjun
collection PubMed
description Most empirical evidence supports the view that non-symbolic and symbolic representations are foundations for advanced mathematical ability. However, the detailed development trajectories of these two types of representations in childhood are not very clear, nor are the different effects of non-symbolic and symbolic representations on the development of mathematical ability. We assessed 253 4- to 8-year-old children’s non-symbolic and symbolic numerical representations, mapping skills, and mathematical ability, aiming to investigate the developmental trajectories and associations between these skills. Our results showed non-symbolic numerical representation emerged earlier than the symbolic one. Four-year-olds were capable of non-symbolic comparisons but not symbolic comparisons; five-year-olds performed better at non-symbolic comparisons than symbolic comparisons. This performance difference disappeared at age 6. Children at age 6 or older were able to map between symbolic and non-symbolic quantities. However, as children learn more about the symbolic representation system, their advantage in non-symbolic representation disappeared. Path analyses revealed that a direct effect of children’s symbolic numerical skills on their math performance, and an indirect effect of non-symbolic numerical skills on math performance via symbolic skills. These results suggest that symbolic numerical skills are a predominant factor affecting math performance in early childhood. However, the influences of symbolic and non-symbolic numerical skills on mathematical performance both declines with age.
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spelling pubmed-60266752018-07-09 Children’s Non-symbolic and Symbolic Numerical Representations and Their Associations With Mathematical Ability Li, Yanjun Zhang, Meng Chen, Yinghe Deng, Zhijun Zhu, Xiaoshuang Yan, Shijia Front Psychol Psychology Most empirical evidence supports the view that non-symbolic and symbolic representations are foundations for advanced mathematical ability. However, the detailed development trajectories of these two types of representations in childhood are not very clear, nor are the different effects of non-symbolic and symbolic representations on the development of mathematical ability. We assessed 253 4- to 8-year-old children’s non-symbolic and symbolic numerical representations, mapping skills, and mathematical ability, aiming to investigate the developmental trajectories and associations between these skills. Our results showed non-symbolic numerical representation emerged earlier than the symbolic one. Four-year-olds were capable of non-symbolic comparisons but not symbolic comparisons; five-year-olds performed better at non-symbolic comparisons than symbolic comparisons. This performance difference disappeared at age 6. Children at age 6 or older were able to map between symbolic and non-symbolic quantities. However, as children learn more about the symbolic representation system, their advantage in non-symbolic representation disappeared. Path analyses revealed that a direct effect of children’s symbolic numerical skills on their math performance, and an indirect effect of non-symbolic numerical skills on math performance via symbolic skills. These results suggest that symbolic numerical skills are a predominant factor affecting math performance in early childhood. However, the influences of symbolic and non-symbolic numerical skills on mathematical performance both declines with age. Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-06-25 /pmc/articles/PMC6026675/ /pubmed/29988580 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01035 Text en Copyright © 2018 Li, Zhang, Chen, Deng, Zhu and Yan. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychology
Li, Yanjun
Zhang, Meng
Chen, Yinghe
Deng, Zhijun
Zhu, Xiaoshuang
Yan, Shijia
Children’s Non-symbolic and Symbolic Numerical Representations and Their Associations With Mathematical Ability
title Children’s Non-symbolic and Symbolic Numerical Representations and Their Associations With Mathematical Ability
title_full Children’s Non-symbolic and Symbolic Numerical Representations and Their Associations With Mathematical Ability
title_fullStr Children’s Non-symbolic and Symbolic Numerical Representations and Their Associations With Mathematical Ability
title_full_unstemmed Children’s Non-symbolic and Symbolic Numerical Representations and Their Associations With Mathematical Ability
title_short Children’s Non-symbolic and Symbolic Numerical Representations and Their Associations With Mathematical Ability
title_sort children’s non-symbolic and symbolic numerical representations and their associations with mathematical ability
topic Psychology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6026675/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29988580
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01035
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