Intellectual Merits:

The main research goal of this CAREER project was to investigate how biases in human judgments of magnitude (the idea that the sizes of numbers and other kinds of magnitudes are not always correctly judged) might influence children’s mathematical learning and thinking. The project focused on understanding learning and developmental change in children’s numerical estimation. Numerical estimation is particularly important not only because it is fundamental to daily life in modern society, but also because estimation performance is closely linked to multiple outcomes relevant to math education in childhood. Numerical estimation performance is correlated with children’s standardized math test scores; performance is substantially different in typically developing children and those with mathematical learning disability; and interventions based on prior studies of numerical estimation have led to long-lasting improvements in math performance in children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Multiple findings from this CAREER project have provided a better understanding of the mental processes underlying numerical estimation throughout childhood and into adulthood (Barth & Paladino, Developmental Science, 2011; Barth, Slusser, Cohen, & Paladino, Developmental Science, 2011; Sullivan, Juhasz, Slattery, & Barth, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2011; Slusser, Santiago, & Barth, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2012; Barth, Slusser, Kanjlia, Garcia, Taggart, & Chase, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2016). This work has shown that understanding the cognitive processes behind our intuitive estimates of proportion (such as “how much of this jar is full” or “how much of this rectangle is shaded”) is important to understanding how we arrive at numerical estimates and how estimation changes from childhood to adulthood. The research also shows that developmental changes in numerical estimation probably come from changes in numerical knowledge and strategy use, rather than from other proposed sources (such as shifts in the kinds of mental scales that children use to think about numbers). This work has also identified ways in which the cognitive processing underlying other kinds of non-numerical magnitude estimation might relate to numerical estimation (Barth, Lesser, Taggart, & Slusser, Developmental Science, 2015). Finally, we discovered that adults with lower numeracy scores also show more distorted use of numerical information in a decision-making context, when they must choose between different risky gambles (Patalano, Saltiel, Machlin, & Barth, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2015).

Broader Impacts:

This work has furthered the understanding of how biases in numerical judgments are fundamental to mathematical cognition and learning, providing new insights into mechanisms underlying improvements in math achievement and bridging fields of perceptual psychology, cognitive development, and education. A major educational goal of the project was to provide high-quality training in cognitive science research relevant to education, focusing particularly on undergraduate education. The project has supported mentorship for one postdoctoral fellow, five BA-level laboratory coordinators, and numerous (~45) undergraduate students in cognitive developmental research, including supporting full-time summer research fellowships for 3-5 students each year and improving access to research opportunities for students from underserved groups. The project has supported visiting speakers who have addressed students and faculty about STEM-relevant translational research.

The project has also supported the establishment, maintenance, and growth of a new academic/museum partnership that has widely expanded our communication of developmental science to the public, in addition to substantially enriching educational opportunities for our undergraduates. This partnership began as a collaboration between the Wesleyan Cognitive Development Lab and the Connecticut Science Center as part of the National Living Laboratory Initiative (a completed large-scale NSF-funded project which “aims to educate the public about child development by immersing museum visitors in the process of scientific discovery,” http://livinglab.org). Our partnership has since grown to be a stand-alone, multi-site ongoing collaboration involving the CT Science Center, Wesleyan University, Yale University, and the University of Connecticut. As part of the partnership, undergraduate research assistants and other lab members have received both formal and informal training in science communication with the public in a museum setting.

Last Modified: 12/29/2016
Modified by: Hilary C Barth