van Marle Kristy, Chu Felicia W, Li Yaoran, Geary David C
Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, USA.
Dev Sci. 2014 Jul;17(4):492-505. doi: 10.1111/desc.12143. Epub 2014 Feb 5.
The study assessed the relations among acuity of the inherent approximate number system (ANS), performance on measures of symbolic quantitative knowledge, and mathematics achievement for a sample of 138 (64 boys) preschoolers. The Weber fraction (a measure of ANS acuity) and associated task accuracy were significantly correlated with mathematics achievement following one year of preschool, and predicted performance on measures of children's explicit knowledge of Arabic numerals, number words, and cardinal value, controlling for age, sex, parental education, intelligence, executive control, and preliteracy knowledge. The relation between ANS acuity, as measured by the Weber fraction and task accuracy, and mathematics achievement was fully mediated by children's performance on the symbolic quantitative tasks, with knowledge of cardinal value emerging as a particularly important mediator. The overall pattern suggests that ANS acuity facilitates the early learning of symbolic quantitative knowledge and indirectly influences mathematics achievement through this knowledge.
该研究评估了138名学龄前儿童（64名男孩）样本的内在近似数字系统（ANS）敏锐度、符号定量知识测量表现与数学成绩之间的关系。经过一年的学前教育，韦伯分数（ANS敏锐度的一种测量方法）及相关任务准确性与数学成绩显著相关，并在控制年龄、性别、父母教育程度、智力、执行控制和读写前知识的情况下，预测了儿童对阿拉伯数字、数字单词和基数价值的明确知识测量的表现。由韦伯分数和任务准确性衡量的ANS敏锐度与数学成绩之间的关系完全由儿童在符号定量任务上的表现所介导，其中基数价值知识是一个特别重要的中介因素。总体模式表明，ANS敏锐度有助于早期学习符号定量知识，并通过这种知识间接影响数学成绩。
