The role of non-symbolic and symbolic processing on children’s arithmetic
achievement
The role of the Approximate Number System (ANS) on human’s arithmetic skills
has long been debatable. While a number of studies have showed that people’s
number acuity, or the smallest ratio between two quantities that can be
distinguished at glance, is predictive of their arithmetic performance (e.g. Halberda,
Mazzocco, & Feigenson, 2008; Piazza et al., 2010), many other studies reported
insignificant relationship between the two (e.g. Iuculano, Tang, Hall, & Butterworth,
2008; Holloway & Ansari, 2008). The current study aimed at investigating the role of
both non-symbolic and symbolic processing in children’s arithmetic development.
Two-hundred and one Chinese kindergarten children, with a mean age of 6 years and
1 month, were assessed on their symbolic skills (counting and estimation),
non-symbolic skills (number acuity), and arithmetic skills. The data were analyzed
using structural equation modeling. The final model, which has a good fit of the data
(X2=20.634, CFI=.994, RMSEA=.021), suggested that non-symbolic processing
predicted concurrent arithmetic performance indirectly through symbolic processing.
The present findings support the role of ANS on human’s arithmetic skills and
provide a potential reason for the insignificant results found in previous studies. Both
symbolic processing and non-symbolic processing play an important role in children’s
development of arithmetic skills.