Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T05:26:26.288Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Set representations required for the acquisition of the “natural number” concept

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2008

Justin Halberda
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218Halberda@jhu.eduhttp://www.psy.jhu.edu/~halberda/Feigenson@jhu.eduhttp://www.psy.jhu.edu/~feigenson/
Lisa Feigenson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218Halberda@jhu.eduhttp://www.psy.jhu.edu/~halberda/Feigenson@jhu.eduhttp://www.psy.jhu.edu/~feigenson/

Abstract

Rips et al. consider whether representations of individual objects or analog magnitudes are building blocks for the concept natural number. We argue for a third core capacity – the ability to bind representations of individuals into sets. However, even with this addition to the list of starting materials, we agree that a significant acquisition story is needed to capture natural number.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Dehaene, S. & Changeux, J. P. (1993) Development of elementary numerical abilities: A neuronal model. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 5:390407.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feigenson, L. & Halberda, J. (2004) Infants chunk object arrays into sets of individuals. Cognition 91:173–90.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feigenson, L. & Halberda, J. (in press) Conceptual knowledge increases infants' memory capacity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.Google Scholar
Gallistel, C. R. & Gelman, R. (2000) Non-verbal numerical cognition: From reals to integers. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 4:5965.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wynn, K., Bloom, P. & Chiang, W.-C. (2002) Enumeration of collective entities by 5-month-old infants. Cognition 83:B55B62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed