par Content, Alain 
;Nys, Julie
Référence Continuous Issues in Numerical Cognition: How Many or How Much, Elsevier Inc., page (215-244)
Publication Publié, 2016-01
;Nys, Julie Référence Continuous Issues in Numerical Cognition: How Many or How Much, Elsevier Inc., page (215-244)
Publication Publié, 2016-01
Partie d'ouvrage collectif
| Résumé : | How do humans estimate numbers? Most previous tasks have used number words or Arabic numerals either as stimulus or as response modality. We argue that such situations cannot provide direct evidence of an estimation mechanism independent of the cultural symbol systems. In place we propose the distribution game, which requires humans to match an input nonsymbolic numerosity to an output nonsymbolic numerosity. We present two studies with 3- to 6-year-old children, which provide further evidence that young children are capable of extracting an approximate representation of the numerosity of visual collections without using counting. Their estimates are not based on the continuous dimensions of the stimuli but rather on abstract numbers, and they show scalar variability, a property often considered the signature of the accumulator principle. Furthermore, the data provide evidence that the accuracy and the acuity of children's estimates is related to their knowledge of verbal numerals and to their expertise in counting. |
