A primarily serial, foveal accumulator underlies approximate numerical estimation.

ABSTRACT: The approximate number system (ANS) has attracted broad interest due to its potential importance in early mathematical development and the fact that it is conserved across species. Models of the ANS and behavioral measures of ANS acuity both assume that quantity estimation is computed rapidly and in parallel across an entire view of the visual scene. We present evidence instead that ANS estimates are largely the product of a serial accumulation mechanism operating across visual fixations. We used an eye-tracker to collect data on participants' visual fixations while they performed quantity-estimation and -discrimination tasks. We were able to predict participants' numerical estimates using their visual fixation data: As the number of dots fixated increased, mean estimates also increased, a

SUBMITTER: Cheyette SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6731650 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature