title: How many is a zillion? Sources of number distortion.
abstract: When young children attempt to locate the positions of numerals on a number line, the positions are often logarithmically rather than linearly distributed. This finding has been taken as evidence that the children represent numbers on a mental number line that is logarithmically calibrated. This article reports a statistical simulation showing that log-like positioning is a consequence of 2 factors: the bounded nature of the number line and greater uncertainty about the meaning of the larger, less frequent number words. Two experiments likewise show that even college students produce log-like placements under the same 2 conditions. In Experiment 1, participants identified positions on a number line for a set that included both conventional and fictitious numbers (e.g., a zillion). In Experiment 2, participants did the same for conventional numbers that included some larger, unfamiliar items (e.g., a nonillion). Both experiments produced results better fit by logarithmic than by linear functions.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. rips@northwestern.edu
authors.forename: Lance J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Rips
mesh_terms: D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012660:Semantics; D013334:Students; D014495:Universities