Intergenerational associations of the approximate number system in toddlers and their parents

Abstract

From birth, humans are able to discriminate quantities using the approximate number system (ANS). However, previous methods have only been suitable to examine ANS functioning in infancy and older children. The goals of this study were twofold: first, to modify an existing method of assessing ANS functioning for toddlerhood; and second, to investigate individual differences in toddlers' ANS performance by examining correlations with their parents' ANS acuity. Using a preferential looking paradigm, we found that 1- to 3-year-olds (N = 46) looked significantly longer to numerically changing images compared to numerically constant ones suggesting that the paradigm is a suitable measure of ANS functioning in toddlerhood. Furthermore, we found a positive relation between toddlers' ANS performance and that of their parents (assessed using a non-symbolic number comparison task) independent of children's vocabulary or parents' perceived math ability or preference for math. These findings are consistent with a specific intergenerational transmission of the ANS. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Past methods used to examine ANS functioning were only suitable for infants and older children. Little research has examined sources underlying individual difference in ANS acuity. What does this study add? We developed a preferential looking task to assess ANS functioning in toddlerhood. Individual differences in toddlers' ANS functioning are correlated with their parents' ANS acuity.

Using Hierarchical Linear Models to Examine Approximate Number System Acuity: The Role of Trial-Level and Participant-Level Characteristics

“… Piazza et al (2013) demonstrated that adult speakers of Mundurukú, a language that lacks number words beyond five and therefore severely limits the mathematical concepts that speakers can articulate, have less precise representations of approximate quantities than do individuals from Western cultures who speak languages that include number words. Similarly, evidence with Western adults suggests that formal math education is associated with greater precision of the ANS ( Nys et al, 2013 ; Lindskog et al, 2014 ). Furthermore, two recent studies utilized cross-lagged longitudinal designs have shown that children’s math skills predict later ANS acuity, even when controlling for earlier ANS acuity, suggesting that math may relate to changes in the ANS over time (authors, under review; Mussolin et al, 2014 ; but see He et al, 2016 ).…”

Predictors of Children’s Early Numeracy: Environmental Variables, Intergenerational Pathways, and Children’s Cognitive, Linguistic, and Non-symbolic Number Skills

“…Parents' cognitive and mathematical basic (i.e., ANS) and more advanced (i.e., calculation) abilities (intergenerational transmission). Based on previous literature, we expected significant associations between children's early numeracy skills and their parents' ANS skills (see Navarro et al, 2018). Our analysis of the link with parents' calculation skills is more explorative, but we expected to see at least a weak association with children's early math.…”

“…Recently, some studies addressed the issue of intergenerational transmission of literacy (van Bergen et al, 2015) and math (Braham and Libertus, 2017;Navarro et al, 2018;Bernabini et al, 2020) skills not only in children with dyscalculia but also in typical populations. Navarro et al (2018) found that parents' Approximate Number System (ANS) skills were related to toddlers' number processing and that this relation was independent of children's vocabulary or parents' perceived math ability, suggesting a specific intergenerational transmission of the ANS. In another study (Braham and Libertus, 2017), conducted on 54 children (5-9 years old) and their parents, children's ANS acuity positively correlated with their parents' ANS acuity.…”

“…We hypothesized that, in line with Braham and Libertus (2017) and with Navarro et al (2018), parents' ANS, as measured by non-symbolic comparison, would predict children's ability with numbers. However, with a sample of 4-5-year-old children, we expected that the role of the home numeracy would also be significant, along with children's ANS skills.…”

“…Considering the development of specific learning skills, the multiple deficit model (Pennington, 2006) evidenced the need to overcome the analysis of single markers in favor of multiple indexes, and increasing attention has been dedicated to intergenerational models (van Bergen et al, 2015) which extends to parents' skills and family characteristics the set of variables to be considered in analyzing the development of learning skills. However, regarding intergenerational models, most studies were referred to literacy skills (Bonifacci et al, 2014;van Bergen et al, 2015) and very few studies tried to apply this model to the development of math skills (Braham and Libertus, 2017;Navarro et al, 2018) but these studies did not account for variables related to children's cognitive and linguistic skills.…”