A MIND… for numbers!
From the earliest months of life, infants can perceive and understand quantities. As they grow, they acquire more complex arithmetic capabilities. Our research group investigates the cognitive mechanisms underlying number processing by studying numerical abilities in both children and adults. Our goal is to contribute to the development of effective strategies for enhancing arithmetic teaching and learning processes in childhood. Currently, we are particularly focused on the concept of zero, which presents unique challenges for many learners due to its distinct characteristics.
You can find our projects here:
Funded project: PRIN 2017 ERC-SH4–A (2017PSRHPZ)
What do we study?
A distinctive feature of numbers is their spatial organization, often referred to as the Mental Number Line. Adults typically represent numbers along a spatial continuum, with smaller numbers on the left and larger numbers on the right. Recent hypotheses suggest that the Mental Number Line may play a role in the development of counting skills and the emergence of early arithmetic abilities in children. However, this connection has yet to be clearly established.
Why do we study this?
The goal of this study is to explore the relationship between numbers and spatial representation, with the aim of developing innovative models for teaching mathematics to young children.
Who can participate?
All children aged 3 to 6 are welcome to participate.
What are we gonna do?
For example, children will help animals/objects to meet in the middle of a path or to drag various sets of objects to arrange them in the space.
How can I participate?
By sending an email to annamaria.porru@unipd.it
What do we study?
Mathematics is a system for representing and reasoning about quantities, with arithmetic as its foundation. Although the processing of Arabic numerals is unique to humans, infants and non-human animals share an innate ability to discriminate between different numerosities. These findings support the existence of a “Number Sense”—an innate, evolutionarily relevant system that is available immediately after birth and is able to capture numerical properties from the surrounding environment. It seems that the acuity of this “Number Sense” can predict future mathematical learning. Furthermore, recent studies indicate that math-related activities done at home with parents can effectively enhance children’s mathematical abilities.
Why do we study this?
The aim of the research is to investigate the development of numerical abilities in the first months and years of life, as well as the neural responses and contextual factors that influence these abilities. The ultimate goal is to provide parents and educators with better guidance on potential predictors of difficulties in number discrimination.
Who can participate?
All children aged 5 to 8 months are welcome to participate.
One of our baby scientist doing the study …
What are we gonna do?
Children will watch two streams of images on a monitor. Every image will represent a set of dots that vary in the number of elements.
How can I participate?
By sending an email to annamaria.porru@unipd.it; emma.visibelli@phd.unipd.it; tamara.bastianello@unipd.it
Funded project: PRIN-PNRR: P2022TKY7B
What do we study?
Mathematics is a system for representing and reasoning about quantities, with arithmetic as its foundation. Although the processing of Arabic numerals is unique to humans, infants and non-human animals share an innate ability to discriminate between different numerosities. However, being good at math is not easy. Students around the world struggle with math more than with any other subject. In particular, it seems that specific difficulties arise when processing the number zero. The present research aims to understand the roots of these widely reported difficulties.
Why is this important?
Because we want to find new educational strategies for teaching numbers, including zero.
Who can participate?
All children aged 4 to 5 years are welcome to participate.
What are we gonna do?
Children will be presented with tablet games. They will be asked, for example, to compare two sets of dots or recognize equal quantities.
How can I participate?
By sending an email to annamaria.porru@unipd.it.
What do we study?
Imagine we have three fruit boxes, with the fruits spread inside without any specific order. The first box contains 20 apples, the second one holds 2 apples, and the third is empty. How do we perceive the empty box compared to the other two? Do we see it as qualitatively different from the others (i.e., one has something while the other has nothing), or do we perceive the empty box as more similar to the one with 2 apples than the one with 20 apples? And if we neatly arrange the fruits within the boxes, would we still perceive it the same way?
Why is this important?
Several scientific studies have shown that our understanding of natural numbers is somehow linked to our perception of non-symbolic quantities. For this reason, we find it interesting to understand whether, even at a non-symbolic level, the cognition of the number zero may differ from that of other numbers.
Who can participate?
Adults (18+ years).
What are we gonna do?
Participants can complete a computer task from home. In the task, they will be asked to compare sets with different quantities, indicating which set contains a larger or smaller number of dots. For each participant, the number of correct responses and reaction times will be recorded.
How can I participate?
By sending an email to giulia.vigna.1@phd.unipd.it
Click here for the flyer!
What do we study?
A recent study found that when participants are asked to choose which of two number words represents a larger (or smaller) quantity, their performance can be predicted not only by the numerical difference between the quantities but also by the frequency of the number words in natural language. Specifically, it appears easier to compare two words representing quantities that are far apart (e.g., ‘four’ and ‘sixteen’) than those that are close (e.g., ‘fifteen’ and ‘sixteen’). However, smaller numbers are used more frequently in everyday language, complicating efforts to disentangle the influence of numerical distance and word frequency. From this perspective, zero is a fascinating exception: although it signifies a null quantity and is conceptually ‘small,’ the word ‘zero’ is relatively infrequent compared to other number words. In this study, we aim to explore whether the findings from previous research also apply to the number zero.
Why is this important?
This study allows us to explore the linguistic dynamics surrounding zero in greater depth. This is particularly relevant, as one reason zero may be perceived as a complex concept could be its low frequency of use in everyday language, where it is often replaced by terms like ‘nothing’ or ‘none.’
Who can participate?
Adults (18+ years).
What are we gonna do?
Participants will complete a computer task from home. In the task, they will be asked to compare two number words at a time, indicating which represents a larger or smaller quantity. For each participant, the number of correct responses and reaction times will be recorded.
How can I participate?
By sending an email to giulia.vigna.1@phd.unipd.it