Preschoolers' ANS task performance follows Weber's Law: accuracy decreases as numerical ratio approaches equality, and improves with age over six months¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2013 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2018: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Children's accuracy on the ANS comparison task decreased as the ratio of blue to yellow dots approached equality, as predicted by Weber's Law. → Libertus Melissa E. 2013 q3 i? Between Time 1 and Time 2, average accuracy increased and response time decreased. → Libertus Melissa E. 2013 (2)

Evidence¶

Libertus Melissa E. 2013¶

Libertus Melissa E., Feigenson Lisa, Halberda Justin. (2013). Is Approximate Number Precision a Stable Predictor of Math Ability? Learning and Individual Differences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2013.02.001

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Analysis of ANS acuity task performance (Results §3.1) in the preschool sample; trials were drawn from four ratio bins (1:2, 2:3, 3:4, 6:7), and "children's accuracy decreased as the numerical ratio increased" as predicted by Weber's Law.

"As predicted by Weber's Law, children's accuracy decreased as the numerical ratio increased (i.e., as the ratio of blue to yellow dots approached equality)."

Libertus Melissa E. 2013 (2)¶

Libertus Melissa E., Feigenson Lisa, Halberda Justin. (2013). Is Approximate Number Precision a Stable Predictor of Math Ability? Learning and Individual Differences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2013.02.001

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Descriptive comparison of ANS task performance across the two testing times (Table 2 shows mean accuracy rising from 65.10% to 76.10% and mean RT falling from 3205.13 ms to 2534.10 ms); the article states "children's average accuracy increased and RT decreased between Time 1 and Time 2."

"As expected, children's average accuracy increased and RT decreased between Time 1 and Time 2"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• In a number comparison task, adults outperform 6- to 7-year-old children in accuracy, Arabic numerals are easier than dot arrays, and easy 0.5 ratios are easier than difficult 0.8 ratios — related
• Accuracy on approximate addition decreases as ratio approaches 1, with a stronger ratio effect on the non-symbolic task — a broader claim this one bears on
• Response times in number comparison show group, notation, and ratio main effects, with a larger ratio effect for dot arrays than Arabic numerals — related
• Numerical routines individualize through a three-stage sequence of vertical and horizontal bonding — related
• Children succeed at non-symbolic approximate addition above chance with a ratio effect, without relying on non-numerical strategies — related
• ANS acuity is a unique concurrent predictor of preschool math ability beyond expressive vocabulary, non-numerical attention RT, and memory span — related
• Early ANS acuity (accuracy and RT) uniquely predicts preschoolers' math ability six months later, controlling for initial math ability, age, and expressive vocabulary — related
• Numerosity comparison accuracy is ratio-dependent across grades three to five — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Performance on the newly learned symbols shows canonical ratio effects, consistent with mapping novel symbols onto Approximate Magnitude System representations — a narrower finding that bears on this claim