Work

Everything is Infinite: Children’s Beliefs About Endless Space, Time, and Number

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: How do children form beliefs about the infinity of space, time, and number? We asked whether children held similar beliefs about infinity across domains, and whether beliefs in infinity for domains like space and time might be scaffolded upon numerical knowledge (e.g., knowledge successors within the count list). To test these questions, 112 U.S. children (aged 4;0-7;11) completed an interview regarding their beliefs about infinite space, time, and number. We also measured their knowledge of counting, and other factors that might impact performance on linguistic assessments of infinity belief (e.g., working memory, ability to respond to hypothetical questions). We found that beliefs about infinity were very high across all three domains, suggesting that infinity beliefs may arise early in development for space, time, and number. Second, we found that-across all three domains-children were more likely to believe that it is always possible to add a unit than to believe that the domain is endless. Finally, we found that understanding the rules underlying counting predicted children's belief that it is always possible to add 1 to any number, but did not predict any of the other elements of infinity belief.

Source: Open Mind

DOI: 10.1162/opmi_a_00104

Authors: Jessica Sullivan, Sophie Cramer-Benjamin, Joseph Alvarez, David Barner

Institutions: Skidmore College, Yale University, University of California San Diego

Language: English

Topic: Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills

Subfield: Statistics and Probability

Field: Mathematics

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $950

Funder: National Science Foundation