University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2019 The Role Of Intuitive Arithmetic In Developing Mathematical Skill Emily Maja Szkudlarek University of Pennsylvania,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Cognitive Psychology Commons, and the Developmental Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Szkudlarek, Emily Maja, "The Role Of Intuitive Arithmetic In Developing Mathematical Skill" (2019). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 3498. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3498 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3498 For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The Role Of Intuitive Arithmetic In Developing Mathematical Skill Abstract Symbolic mathematics allows humans to represent and describe the logic of the world around us. Although we typically think about math symbolically, humans across the lifespan and a wide variety of animal species spontaneously exhibit numerical competence without reference to formal mathematics. This intuitive ability to approximately compare, estimate, and manipulate large non-symbolic numerical quantities without language or symbols is called the Approximate Number System. The four chapters of this dissertation explore whether non-symbolic, approximate calculation can function as a bridge between our Approximate Number System and symbolic mathematics for children at the beginning of formal math education and university undergraduates. Chapter 1 explores how non-symbolic and symbolic ratio reasoning relates to general math skill and Approximate Number System acuity in elementary school children. Chapter 2 examines whether children and adults can perform a non-symbolic, approximate division computation, and how this ability relates to non-symbolic and symbolic mathematical skill.