The effects of directly manipulating dotarray properties on the link between numerosity comparison and arithmetic

BACKGROUND: Previous research has shown that the number sense can predict arithmetic ability. There has been a visual form perception hypothesis, which was supported by a series of correlational evidence, but there was no evidence from the effect of direct manipulation. AIMS: The current study provided direct evidence to show the effect of the processing form of numerosity on arithmetic by manipulating the form information. SAMPLE(S): A total of 884 participants with two age groups (younger, older) were recruited, including 221 males and 198 females in the younger group who were younger than 6 years old, and 260 males and 205 females in the older group who were older than 6 years old. METHODS: A total of 4 computerized tests were used to measure non-symbolic numerosity, visual form perception and arithmetic ability. Analyses were conducted using two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance to account for the effects of controlling condition and dot ratio on the dot comparison task score. RESULTS: Results showed that dot comparison under controlling for total perimeter is the most difficult by comparing with dot comparison under controlling for mean perimeter, total area, mean area and dot comparison without any controlling, with increasing score from 4.1-5.7 to 2.0. Moreover, the condition had the weakest association with both visual form perception ability and arithmetic performance. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the number sense in nature is a type of visual form perception, and the association between number sense and arithmetic is rooted in the processing of form information.