Infant numerical approximation: development and malleability
Infants share with us an approximate sense of number (such as discriminating 8 cookies from 16 without counting), and this ability refines over time. Can we modulate infants' numerical precision by changing the input they receive or the previous experience they have? By measuring infants' looking behavior, my studies have found various ways to boost infants' sensitivity to numerical changes.
Wang, J., & Feigenson, L. (in prep). Numerical Acuity and the Impact of Intersensory Redundancy in 4-month-old Infants. Wang, J., Libertus, M. & Feigenson, L. (2018). Hysteresis-induced Changes in Infants' Approximate Number Precision. Cognitive Development. (PDF) Wang, J., & Feigenson, L. (2016). Approximate Number Precision in 4 months old infants. Poster presented at ICIS 2016, New Orleans. (PDF) |
Intuitive numerical approximation and symbolic mathematics
Recent research has found a surprising link between the intuitive number sense that we share with infants and the acquired ability in mathematics. I ask how interventions designed to modulate children’s intuitive number sense can cause changes in children's performance in school mathematics.
|
Wang, J., Halberda, J., & Feigenson, L. (accepted). Emergence of the Link between the Approximate Number System and Symbolic Math Ability. Child Development.
Wang, J., Halberda, J., & Feigenson, L. (2017). Approximate number sense correlates with math performance in gifted adolescents. Acta Psychologica, 176, 78-84. (PDF) Wang, J., Odic, D., Halberda, J. & Feigenson, L. (2017). Better together: Multiple lines of evidence for a link between approximate and exact number representations. A reply to Merkley, Matejko & Ansari. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. (PDF) Wang, J., Odic, D., Halberda, J. & Feigenson, L. (2016). Changing the Precision of Preschoolers' Approximate Number System Representations Changes their Symbolic Math Performance. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. (PDF) |
Relation between language and numerical concepts
Like us, children can only remember a limited amount of things. What kind of strategies can they use to help them remember more? And how does the experience with language influence what children remember?
My research has found that infants may already have built a link between counting and quantity soon after their first birthday, which may serve as the foundation for their acquisition of count words.
I am also interested in how speakers of different languages may differ in their conceptual representation of the world.
Wang, J. & Feigenson, L (2019). Infants recognize counting as numerically relevant. Developmental Science. (PDF)
Wang, J., Li, P. & Carey, S. (2013). Language and Thought Relation in Learning How Stuff Counts. Proceedings of the 37th Boston University Conference on Language Development, Boston. (PDF)
Wang, J., Li, P. & Carey, S. (2013). Language and Thought Relation in Learning How Stuff Counts. Proceedings of the 37th Boston University Conference on Language Development, Boston. (PDF)
Changes in learning as we learn
Children are amazing learners. But as they acquire more and more knowledge about this world, the changes in their mental states may cause changes in their future learning and exploration. What is the relationship between children's existing knowledge and their curiosity and exploration in future learning situations? And how do children differ from adults in their exploratory and learning patterns?
Wang, J., Yang, Macias, & Bonawitz, E. (under review). Children with More Immature Intuitive Theories Seek Domain-Relevant Information.
Wang, J. & Bonawitz, E. (2019). Difficulty of numerical decisions guides adults' active exploration. Talk at SPP 2019, San Diego, CA..
Wang, J. & Bonawitz, E. (2019). Active information seeking using the Approximate Number System. Poster at Cog Sci 2019, Montreal, Canada.
Wang, J., Yang, Macias, & Bonawitz, E. (under review). Children with More Immature Intuitive Theories Seek Domain-Relevant Information.
Wang, J. & Bonawitz, E. (2019). Difficulty of numerical decisions guides adults' active exploration. Talk at SPP 2019, San Diego, CA..
Wang, J. & Bonawitz, E. (2019). Active information seeking using the Approximate Number System. Poster at Cog Sci 2019, Montreal, Canada.
People’s beliefs about the origins of knowledge
Where does human knowledge come from? What are we born with, what emerges naturally through maturation, and what requires learning and instruction? These questions have been central to the philosophical and scientific understanding of the genesis of human mind. These questions are also intuitive to every member of the human society. Our intuition about the origins of human mind may influence how we interact with minds, our own and others. Surprisingly, little is known about people's intuitive beliefs about where knowledge comes from. To test this, I have probed several hundred adult and child participants about how they think knowledge arises.
Wang, J. & Feigenson, L (2019). Is empiricism innate? Preference for nurture over nature in people's beliefs about the origins of human knowledge. Open Mind.(PDF) |