Direction counts A comparative study of spatially directional counting biases in cultures with different reading directions
- Western adults associate small numbers with left space and large numbers with right space. Where does this pervasive spatial-numerical association come from? In this study, we first recorded directional counting preferences in adults with different reading experiences (left to right, right to left, mixed, and illiterate) and observed a clear relationship between reading and counting directions. We then recorded directional counting preferences in pre-schoolers and elementary school children from three of these reading cultures (left to right, right to left, and mixed). Culture-specific counting biases existed before reading acquisition in children as young as 3 years and were subsequently modified by early reading experience. Together, our results suggest that both directional counting and scanning activities contribute to number-space associations.
Author details: | Samuel ShakiORCiD, Martin H. FischerORCiDGND, Silke M. Goebel |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2011.12.005 |
ISSN: | 0022-0965 |
Title of parent work (English): | Journal of experimental child psychology |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Place of publishing: | San Diego |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Year of first publication: | 2012 |
Publication year: | 2012 |
Release date: | 2017/03/26 |
Tag: | Counting; Cross-cultural; Mental Number; Number-space association; Numerical cognition; Reading direction |
Volume: | 112 |
Issue: | 2 |
Number of pages: | 7 |
First page: | 275 |
Last Page: | 281 |
Organizational units: | Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Strukturbereich Kognitionswissenschaften / Department Psychologie |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Institution name at the time of the publication: | Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Psychologie |