Seven-month-olds detect ordinal numerical relationships within temporal sequences

J Exp Child Psychol. 2010 Nov;107(3):359-67. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2010.05.005. Epub 2010 Jun 25.

Abstract

Previous evidence has shown that 11-month-olds represent ordinal relations between purely numerical values, whereas younger infants require a confluence of numerical and non-numerical cues. In this study, we show that when multiple featural cues (i.e., color and shape) are provided, 7-month-olds detect reversals in the ordinal direction of numerical sequences relying solely on number when non-numerical quantitative cues are controlled. These results provide evidence for the influence of featural information and multiple cue integration on infants' proneness to detect ordinal numerical information.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Child Development / physiology*
  • Concept Formation / physiology
  • Cues
  • Discrimination, Psychological / physiology*
  • Female
  • Habituation, Psychophysiologic / physiology
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Mathematics*
  • Mental Processes / physiology*