Language and math are important tools that allow humans to better understand the world around them, and communicate with one another. Some cognitive scientists are interested in learning more about how children develop language skills and conceptions about basic math principles, and how the development of math and language skills in early childhood might be interrelated.
This research explores children’s instincts about multiplication before they learn about it in school.
In this study, children ages 5 and older are presented with two cartoon characters, each playing with their own set of marbles on a computer screen. The first character is very organized, and has the same number of marbles stored in each of their buckets. The second character is very unorganized and keeps their marbles scattered on the floor. The children are asked to guess which character has more marbles.
The results thus far have shown that children as young as 5 do seem to have an instinct about multiplication that helps them to estimate numbers. Children are able to indicate which character has more marbles, showing that they understand something about multiplication even before learning about it in school.
In the future, our findings may help educational programs define an appropriate time to introduce particular math concepts to children.
Learn about other research related to Math and Language Cognition.
This research is conducted by the Laboratory for Developmental Studies at Harvard University