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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
