Final published version
Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSN › Chapter
Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSN › Chapter
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TY - CHAP
T1 - The Role of Perceptual Processes in Infant Addition/Subtraction Experiments
AU - Slater, Alan M.
AU - Bremner, J. Gavin
AU - Johnson, Scott P.
AU - Hayes, Rachel A.
PY - 2011/1/1
Y1 - 2011/1/1
N2 - One of the major areas of research into early cognitive development concerns infants' ability to understand number, given that it leads into later numerical and mathematical competence. Accordingly, there is considerable research on this topic and there is a large body of research suggesting that infants have a least some ability to discriminate between small number sets and large number sets. This chapter begins by describing the evidence for two types of representations of number-one for small item sets, the other for large-together with evidence that these systems are modality-general. This is followed by evidence suggesting that infants may sometimes be responding to continuous variables that are found in displays of discrete items rather than number per se. It then turns to the main focus of the chapter, which is whether infants can add and subtract, or whether their purported arithmetical abilities can be explained in lower-level perceptual terms. It is in this context that the relative contributions of information-processing perspectives are compared with other theoretical views on our understanding of infants' numerical abilities.
AB - One of the major areas of research into early cognitive development concerns infants' ability to understand number, given that it leads into later numerical and mathematical competence. Accordingly, there is considerable research on this topic and there is a large body of research suggesting that infants have a least some ability to discriminate between small number sets and large number sets. This chapter begins by describing the evidence for two types of representations of number-one for small item sets, the other for large-together with evidence that these systems are modality-general. This is followed by evidence suggesting that infants may sometimes be responding to continuous variables that are found in displays of discrete items rather than number per se. It then turns to the main focus of the chapter, which is whether infants can add and subtract, or whether their purported arithmetical abilities can be explained in lower-level perceptual terms. It is in this context that the relative contributions of information-processing perspectives are compared with other theoretical views on our understanding of infants' numerical abilities.
KW - Addition
KW - Infant perception
KW - Numerical ability
KW - Representations of number
KW - Subtraction
U2 - 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195366709.003.0005
DO - 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195366709.003.0005
M3 - Chapter
AN - SCOPUS:84921258562
SN - 9780195366709
BT - Infant Perception and Cognition
A2 - Oakes, Lisa
A2 - Carshon, Cara
A2 - Casasola, Marianella
A2 - Rakison, David
PB - Oxford University Press Inc
ER -