The emergence of cardinality and associated neural correlates.

Given the increasing appreciation for mathematics in a global economy, with advancements
in technology (Sarama & Clements, 2009) there has been a resurgence in cardinality research, and
how best to teach this principle to establish skills and confidence in young children. This project
aims to bridge recent research on neural processes and mathematical reasoning with
developmental accounts of cardinality.
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The cardinality principle involves understanding that the final number in the count
represents how many in total or the total number of items (Paliwal & Baroody, 2018). Cardinal
proficiency underpins many symbolic mathematical abilities, is a key competency for children, and is
a significant predictor of mathematical achievement (Chu, vanMarle & Geary, 2015; MontagueSmith & Price, 2012; Sarama & Clements, 2009). Research suggests acuity in the approximate
number system (ANS) scaffolds acquisition of cardinality (Bugden, DeWind & Brannon, 2016; Chu et
al., 2015). However, these studies measure ANS acuity and symbolic mathematical ability
simultaneously, leading some to suggest the acquisition of cardinality improves ANS acuity (for
review see Raghubar & Barnes, 2017). Study one aims to elucidate the direction of this relationship,
assessing ANS acuity at 12 months and cardinality at 42 months (see below for details of all studies).