Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Cognition. 2011 Nov;121(2):256-61. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2011.07.009. Epub 2011 Aug 19.
What predicts human mathematical competence? While detailed models of number representation in the brain have been developed, it remains to be seen exactly how basic number representations link to higher math abilities. We propose that representation of ordinal associations between numerical symbols is one important factor that underpins this link. We show that individual variability in symbolic number-ordering ability strongly predicts performance on complex mental-arithmetic tasks even when controlling for several competing factors, including approximate number acuity. Crucially, symbolic number-ordering ability fully mediates the previously reported relation between approximate number acuity and more complex mathematical skills, suggesting that symbolic number-ordering may be a stepping stone from approximate number representation to mathematical competence. These results are important for understanding how evolution has interacted with culture to generate complex representations of abstract numerical relationships. Moreover, the finding that symbolic number-ordering ability links approximate number acuity and complex math skills carries implications for designing math-education curricula and identifying reliable markers of math performance during schooling.
什么因素能够预测人类的数学能力？尽管已经开发出了大脑中数字表示的详细模型，但基本的数字表示与更高的数学能力之间的确切联系仍有待观察。我们提出，数字符号之间的顺序关系的表示是支持这种联系的一个重要因素。我们表明，即使在控制了几个竞争因素（包括近似数量敏锐度）之后，符号数字排序能力的个体差异也强烈预测了复杂的心理算术任务的表现。至关重要的是，符号数字排序能力完全介导了先前报道的近似数量敏锐度与更复杂的数学技能之间的关系，这表明符号数字排序可能是从近似数量表示到数学能力的一个中间步骤。这些结果对于理解进化如何与文化相互作用，从而产生对抽象数字关系的复杂表示具有重要意义。此外，符号数字排序能力与近似数量敏锐度和复杂数学技能相关的发现，对设计数学教育课程以及在学校教育期间确定可靠的数学表现标志物具有启示意义。
