Rights statement: Copyright © 2014 Towse, Loetscher and Brugger. 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) or licensor 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.
Final published version, 681 KB, PDF document
Available under license: CC BY
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Not all numbers are equal
T2 - preferences and biases among children and adults when generating random sequences
AU - Towse, John
AU - Loetscher, Tobias
AU - Brugger, Peter
N1 - Copyright © 2014 Towse, Loetscher and Brugger. 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) or licensor 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.
PY - 2014/1/23
Y1 - 2014/1/23
N2 - We investigate the number preferences of children and adults when generating random digit sequences. Previous research has shown convincingly that adults prefer smaller numbers when randomly choosing between responses 1-6. We analyse randomisation choices made by both children and adults, considering a range of experimental studies and task configurations. Children – most of whom are between 8 and 11 years- show a preference for relatively large numbers when choosing numbers 1-10. Adults show a preference for small numbers with the same response set. We report a modest association between children’s age and numerical bias. However, children also exhibit a small number bias with a smaller response set available, and they show a preference specifically for the numbers 1-3 across many datasets. We argue that number space demonstrates both continuities (numbers 1-3 have a distinct status) and change (a developmentally emerging bias towards the left side of representational space or lower numbers).
AB - We investigate the number preferences of children and adults when generating random digit sequences. Previous research has shown convincingly that adults prefer smaller numbers when randomly choosing between responses 1-6. We analyse randomisation choices made by both children and adults, considering a range of experimental studies and task configurations. Children – most of whom are between 8 and 11 years- show a preference for relatively large numbers when choosing numbers 1-10. Adults show a preference for small numbers with the same response set. We report a modest association between children’s age and numerical bias. However, children also exhibit a small number bias with a smaller response set available, and they show a preference specifically for the numbers 1-3 across many datasets. We argue that number space demonstrates both continuities (numbers 1-3 have a distinct status) and change (a developmentally emerging bias towards the left side of representational space or lower numbers).
KW - Numerical cognition
KW - spatial cognition
KW - Random Generation
KW - Cognitive development
KW - Number preferences
U2 - 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00019
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00019
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 24478747
VL - 5
JO - Frontiers in Psychology
JF - Frontiers in Psychology
SN - 1664-1078
M1 - 19
ER -