Individual differences in numerical comparison is independent of numerical precision

Abstract

Numeracy, as measured by performance on the non-symbolic numerical comparison task, is a key construct in numerical and mathematical cognition. The current study examines individual variation in performance on the numerical comparison task. We contrast the hypothesis that performance on the numerical comparison task is primarily due to more accurate representations of numbers with the hypothesis that performance dependent on decision-making factors. We present data from two behavioral experiments and a mathematical model. In both behavioral experiments we measure the precision of participant’s numerical value representation using a free response estimation task. Taken together, results suggest that individual variation in numerical comparison performance is not predicted by variation in the precision of participants’ numerical value representation.