The interaction between literacy, writing, and finger- counting for spatial representation of numbers

Diplôme Thèse The interaction between literacy, writing, and finger- counting for spatial representation of numbers eng 2019-02-13 author Aldashti Asma 732823 director Gentaz Edouard 0000-0003-0574-5557 123382 10.13097/archive-ouverte/unige:117294 urn:nbn:ch:unige-1172949 FPSE 720 This thesis belongs to the study of the nature of human numerical cognition. In particular, it focuses on the interaction between literacy and cultural conventions, such as the direction of writing systems and the use of finger counting for spatial representation of numbers. It dwells on both the cultural and epistemological aspects of this interaction, but with an emphasis on the most recent scientific discoveries, such as the mental number-line concept. A prominent signature of this work is its concentration on investigating further the subtle relationships among numerical quantities, finger counting, and spatial direction of reading and writing in new experimental populations recruited from the United Arab Emirates. More specifically, the project was mapped on two axes: (1) testing children of primary and lower secondary–school age, university students, and illiterate adults; and (2) considering two different cultural contexts, namely, Western culture and Middle Eastern culture. Altogether, the results of the present thesis indicate that mapping of numbers onto space is a universal intuition and the concept of a linear number line appears to be a cultural invention that seems to develop out of school experiences. However, learning to read and write numerals has a decisive influence on spatial numerical association coding in human brains. Our findings also promote the view that the sensory-motor system may contribute to such conceptual processes as those involved in number representation. Numerical cognition Spatial representation Culture Literacy Writing Numbers Finger-counting Dewey 150 108 Section de psychologie 71 false 3720309b-a8cc-444b-bdca-6ae6e9859867 Thesis Private ALDASHTI-thesis_Final-version-Feb-2019.pdf 3542606 application/pdf 40d0455f526fda2b03ef21f32aeb38d81ef427c68ce6b409786d018a5e1d5895 closedAccess Faculté de psychologie et des sciences de l'éducation / Section de psychologie

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The interaction between literacy, writing, and finger- counting for spatial representation of numbers				2019	750	0

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Aldashti, Asma