Although many U.S. children can count sets by 4 years, it is not until 5½--6 years that they understand how counting relates to number--that is, that adding 1 to a set necessitates counting up one number. This study examined two knowledge sources that 3½- to 6-year-olds (N = 136) may leverage to acquire this "successor function": (a)…

The number-line task has been extensively used to study the mental representation of numbers in children. However, studies suggest that proportional reasoning provides a better account of children's performance. Ninety 4- to 6-year-olds were given a number-line task with symbolic numbers, with clustered dot arrays that resembled a perceptual…

The ability to choose the larger between two numbers reflects a mature understanding of the magnitude associated with numerical symbols. The present study explores how the knowledge of the number sequence and memory capacity (verbal and visuospatial) relate to number comparison skills while controlling for cardinal knowledge. Preschool children's…

Recent work has probed the developmental mechanisms that promote fair sharing. This work investigated 2.5- to 5.5-year-olds' (N = 316; 52% female; 79% White; data collected 2016-2018) sharing behavior in relation to three cognitive correlates: number knowledge, working memory, and cognitive control. In contrast to working memory and cognitive…

This study examines the core predictors of the covariance in reading and arithmetic fluency and the domain-general cognitive skills that explain the core predictors and covariance. Seven-year-old Finnish children (N = 200) were assessed on rapid automatized naming (RAN), phonological awareness, letter knowledge, verbal counting, number writing,…

The number line estimation task is widely used to investigate mathematical learning and development. The present meta-analysis statistically synthesized the extensive evidence on the correlation between number line estimation and broader mathematical competence. Averaged over 263 effect sizes with 10,576 participants with sample mean ages from 4…

Theoretical analyses of the development of numerical representations suggest that playing linear number board games should enhance young children's numerical knowledge. Consistent with this prediction, playing such a game for roughly 1 hr increased low-income preschoolers' (mean age = 5.4 years) proficiency on 4 diverse numerical tasks: numerical…

Children ranging in age from three to six years counted 7, 10, and 14 items arranged in columns or in rows. Developmental changes in the spatial strategy and the relation of strategy to accuracy were examined. (JMB)

Two studies sought to determine the developmental relationship between the child's use of counting as a notational symbol system to extract, compare, and reproduce numerical information and the development of number conservation. Subjects were four- to six-year-old children in Study 1 and seven- to nine-year-old learning disabled children in Study…

Judgments of similarities between numbers were solicited from kindergarten, third-grade, sixth-grade, and adult subjects. Results suggested children become sensitive to an expanding set of numerical relations during the period from kindergarten through sixth grade. Results of a second study suggested that the number similarity judgments of…

Three experiments explored the developmental relationship between counting and number conservation in children from three to six years old. Results indicated that there was a close relationship between the two; that only the oldest children gave evidence of conserving; and that, in general, there is evidence of protracted development in young…