Zhu Jun, Yang Huanyu, Jia Liangzhi, Li Chenli, Wu Qiang, Bi Yajie, Yu Fangwen, Pan Yun
School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China.
Xichang University, Xichang, China.
PLoS One. 2025 Jun 27;20(6):e0325209. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0325209. eCollection 2025.
The developmental order of numerical mapping and the symmetry of the mapping direction in preschool children remain controversial. In light of this context, this study investigated the developmental characteristics of numerical mapping among preschool children in China. In Experiment 1, 128 children aged 2-4 years were recruited to participate in six numerical mapping tasks with small and large numbers. The results showed no reliable differences between the mapping directions. Notably, the developmental orders of small- and large-number mapping differed, potentially confirming two systems of number representation. Furthermore, previous studies have found that counting or not could affect children's performance on numerical tasks. Therefore, in Experiment 2, we introduced the condition of "reminding children to count" and recruited 97 children aged 3-4 years to explore its influence on numerical mapping. Our findings revealed that reminding children to count could improve their performance on numerical mappings, resulting in alterations in the symmetry of the mapping direction and developmental order of mapping paths. In conclusion, number size and counting reminders would affect researchers' assessments of the developmental order of numerical mapping in preschool children, which serves as a guide for nurturing and evaluating the numerical mapping ability of preschool children.
学前儿童数字映射的发展顺序以及映射方向的对称性仍然存在争议。鉴于此，本研究调查了中国学前儿童数字映射的发展特征。在实验1中，招募了128名2至4岁的儿童参与六项涉及小数字和大数字的数字映射任务。结果显示，映射方向之间没有可靠的差异。值得注意的是，小数字和大数字映射的发展顺序不同，这可能证实了两种数字表征系统。此外，先前的研究发现，是否计数会影响儿童在数字任务上的表现。因此，在实验2中，我们引入了“提醒儿童计数”的条件，并招募了97名3至4岁的儿童来探究其对数字映射的影响。我们的研究结果表明，提醒儿童计数可以提高他们在数字映射任务上的表现，导致映射方向的对称性和映射路径的发展顺序发生变化。总之，数字大小和计数提醒会影响研究人员对学前儿童数字映射发展顺序的评估，这为培养和评估学前儿童的数字映射能力提供了指导。
