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Content archived on 2024-05-28

Size Matters in Numerical Cognition

Objective

Numerical cognition is essential to many aspects of life and arithmetic abilities predict academic achievements better than reading. Acquiring a solid sense of numbers and being able to mentally manipulate numbers are at the heart of this ability. In recent years research has been marked by looking for the underlying mental operations, an effort to unravel the neural tissue that supports these operations, and identifying low-level deficits that underlie deficiencies in numerical cognition such as developmental dyscalculia. This accumulated body of results led to a widely accepted view of an innate, domain-specific, core numerical knowledge based on the ability to perceive and manipulate discrete quantities.
However, several findings suggest that this wide agreement needs to be examined carefully; 1) similar to their sensitivity to discrete quantities (e.g. enumeration of objects), infants show sensitivity to non-countable continuous dimensions like perception of area (Brannon, 2006) and size (Lourenco, 2010). Mix et al. (2002) surveyed the literature on quantification in infancy and early childhood and suggested that the literature provides no clear-cut evidence that infants use numbers to perform quantitative tasks and that there is evidence that infants respond to amount of substance, rather than discrete numbers, in what had seemed to be numerical tasks. 2) Developmental trajectories similar to those with numbers have been shown to rely on domain-general rather than domain-specific abilities (Holloway, 2008). During development, language may provide a medium that bridges between core domain-specific systems (Munkholm, 2001; Platt, 2009; Spelke, 2003). Lastly, 3) numbers are intimately associated with non-countable dimensions (e.g. area, brightness). Accordingly, the current proposal examines the possibility that there exists an evolutionarily older system dedicated to the perception and evaluation of non-countable dimensions (e.g. sizes or amounts).

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Call for proposal

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ERC-2011-ADG_20110406
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

ERC-AG - ERC Advanced Grant

Host institution

BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY OF THE NEGEV
EU contribution
€ 2 251 330,00
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data

Beneficiaries (1)

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