TY  - JOUR
A1  - Shaki, Samuel
A1  - Fischer, Martin H.
A1  - Goebel, Silke M.
T1  - Direction counts A comparative study of spatially directional counting biases in cultures with different reading directions
JF  - Journal of experimental child psychology
N2  - 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.
KW  - Counting
KW  - Numerical cognition
KW  - Reading direction
KW  - Number-space association
KW  - Mental Number
KW  - Cross-cultural
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2011.12.005
SN  - 0022-0965
VL  - 112
IS  - 2
SP  - 275
EP  - 281
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - San Diego
ER  -