Learning to focus on number

Manuela Piazza; Vito De Feo; Stefano Panzeri; Stanislas Dehaene

doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2018.07.011

Learning to focus on number

Standard

Learning to focus on number. / Piazza, Manuela; De Feo, Vito; Panzeri, Stefano; Dehaene, Stanislas.

In: COGNITION, Vol. 181, 12.2018, p. 35-45.

Research output: SCORING: Contribution to journal › SCORING: Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Piazza, M, De Feo, V, Panzeri, S & Dehaene, S 2018, 'Learning to focus on number', COGNITION, vol. 181, pp. 35-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2018.07.011

APA

Piazza, M., De Feo, V., Panzeri, S., & Dehaene, S. (2018). Learning to focus on number. COGNITION, 181, 35-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2018.07.011

Vancouver

Piazza M, De Feo V, Panzeri S, Dehaene S. Learning to focus on number. COGNITION. 2018 Dec;181:35-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2018.07.011

Bibtex

@article{ffef91da9b10482c8f472bb6d48a1b9b,

title = "Learning to focus on number",

abstract = "With age and education, children become increasingly accurate in processing numerosity. This developmental trend is often interpreted as a progressive refinement of the mental representation of number. Here we provide empirical and theoretical support for an alternative possibility, the filtering hypothesis, which proposes that development primarily affects the ability to focus on the relevant dimension of number and to avoid interference from irrelevant but often co-varying quantitative dimensions. Data from the same numerical comparison task in adults and children of various levels of numeracy, including Munduruc{\'u} Indians and western dyscalculics, show that, as predicted by the filtering hypothesis, age and education primarily increase the ability to focus on number and filter out potentially interfering information on the non-numerical dimensions. These findings can be captured by a minimal computational model where learning consists in the training of a multivariate classifier whose discrimination boundaries get progressively aligned to the task-relevant dimension of number. This view of development has important consequences for education.",

keywords = "Adolescent, Adult, Child, Child, Preschool, Decision Making, Humans, Information Theory, Learning, Mathematical Concepts, Middle Aged, Models, Psychological, Multivariate Analysis, Young Adult",

author = "Manuela Piazza and {De Feo}, Vito and Stefano Panzeri and Stanislas Dehaene",

year = "2018",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1016/j.cognition.2018.07.011",

language = "English",

volume = "181",

pages = "35--45",

journal = "COGNITION",

issn = "0010-0277",

publisher = "Elsevier BV",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Learning to focus on number

AU - Piazza, Manuela

AU - De Feo, Vito

AU - Panzeri, Stefano

AU - Dehaene, Stanislas

PY - 2018/12

Y1 - 2018/12

N2 - With age and education, children become increasingly accurate in processing numerosity. This developmental trend is often interpreted as a progressive refinement of the mental representation of number. Here we provide empirical and theoretical support for an alternative possibility, the filtering hypothesis, which proposes that development primarily affects the ability to focus on the relevant dimension of number and to avoid interference from irrelevant but often co-varying quantitative dimensions. Data from the same numerical comparison task in adults and children of various levels of numeracy, including Mundurucú Indians and western dyscalculics, show that, as predicted by the filtering hypothesis, age and education primarily increase the ability to focus on number and filter out potentially interfering information on the non-numerical dimensions. These findings can be captured by a minimal computational model where learning consists in the training of a multivariate classifier whose discrimination boundaries get progressively aligned to the task-relevant dimension of number. This view of development has important consequences for education.

AB - With age and education, children become increasingly accurate in processing numerosity. This developmental trend is often interpreted as a progressive refinement of the mental representation of number. Here we provide empirical and theoretical support for an alternative possibility, the filtering hypothesis, which proposes that development primarily affects the ability to focus on the relevant dimension of number and to avoid interference from irrelevant but often co-varying quantitative dimensions. Data from the same numerical comparison task in adults and children of various levels of numeracy, including Mundurucú Indians and western dyscalculics, show that, as predicted by the filtering hypothesis, age and education primarily increase the ability to focus on number and filter out potentially interfering information on the non-numerical dimensions. These findings can be captured by a minimal computational model where learning consists in the training of a multivariate classifier whose discrimination boundaries get progressively aligned to the task-relevant dimension of number. This view of development has important consequences for education.

KW - Adolescent

KW - Adult

KW - Child

KW - Child, Preschool

KW - Decision Making

KW - Humans

KW - Information Theory

KW - Learning

KW - Mathematical Concepts

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Models, Psychological

KW - Multivariate Analysis

KW - Young Adult

U2 - 10.1016/j.cognition.2018.07.011

DO - 10.1016/j.cognition.2018.07.011

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 30118966

VL - 181

SP - 35

EP - 45

JO - COGNITION

JF - COGNITION

SN - 0010-0277

ER -