title: Differences in arithmetic performance between Chinese and German adults are accompanied by differences in processing of non-symbolic numerical magnitude.
abstract: Human beings are assumed to possess an approximate number system (ANS) dedicated to extracting and representing approximate numerical magnitude information. The ANS is assumed to be fundamental to arithmetic learning and has been shown to be associated with arithmetic performance. It is, however, still a matter of debate whether better arithmetic skills are reflected in the ANS. To address this issue, Chinese and German adults were compared regarding their performance in simple arithmetic tasks and in a non-symbolic numerical magnitude comparison task. Chinese participants showed a better performance in solving simple arithmetic tasks and faster reaction times in the non-symbolic numerical magnitude comparison task without making more errors than their German peers. These differences in performance could not be ascribed to differences in general cognitive abilities. Better arithmetic skills were thus found to be accompanied by a higher speed of retrieving non-symbolic numerical magnitude knowledge but not by a higher precision of non-symbolic numerical magnitude representations. The group difference in the speed of retrieving non-symbolic numerical magnitude knowledge was fully mediated by the performance in arithmetic tasks, suggesting that arithmetic skills shape non-symbolic numerical magnitude processing skills.
authors.affiliation: Department of Education and Human Development, German Institute for International Educational Research (DIPF), Frankfurt am Main, Germany.|Center for Individual Development and Adaptive Education of Children at Risk, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lonnemann
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Behavioral Science, Institute for Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Su
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Behavioral Science, Institute for Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Pei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, School of Education & Management, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Education and Human Development, German Institute for International Educational Research (DIPF), Frankfurt am Main, Germany.|Center for Individual Development and Adaptive Education of Children at Risk, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Janosch
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Linkersdörfer
authors.affiliation: Center for Individual Development and Adaptive Education of Children at Risk, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.|Paderborn University, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Paderborn, Germany.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lindberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Education and Human Development, German Institute for International Educational Research (DIPF), Frankfurt am Main, Germany.|Center for Individual Development and Adaptive Education of Children at Risk, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.|Department of Educational Psychology, Institute for Psychology, Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasselhorn
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Methods, Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D011930:Reaction Time; D055815:Young Adult