Methodological aspects to be considered when measuring the approximate number system (ANS)

Autor/inn/en	Dietrich, Julia F.; Huber, Stefan; Nuerk, Hans-Christoph
Titel	Methodological aspects to be considered when measuring the approximate number system (ANS) - A research review. Gefälligkeitsübersetzung: Zu beachtende methodische Aspekte bei der Messung des Systems für Anzahlschätzung - Ein Forschungsüberblick.
Quelle	In: Frontiers in psychology, (2015) 6, 14 S. PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1664-1078
DOI	10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00295
Schlagwörter	Abhängige Variable; Mathematische Kompetenz; Zahlensystem; Testreliabilität; Testvalidität; Experimentelle Methode
Abstract	Discusses the methodological aspects to be considered when measuring the approximate number system (ANS). According to a dominant view, the ANS is the foundation of symbolic math abilities. Because of the importance of math abilities for education and career, a lot of research focuses on the investigation of the ANS and its relationship with math performance. However, the results are inconsistent. This might be caused by studies differing greatly regarding the operationalization of the ANS (i.e., tasks, dependent variables). Moreover, many methodological aspects vary from one study to the next. In the present review, the authors discuss commonly used ANS tasks and dependent variables regarding their theoretical foundation and psychometric features. The inconsistent findings concerning the relationship between ANS acuity and math performance may be partially explained by differences in reliability. Furthermore, this review summarized methodological aspects of ANS tasks having important impacts on the results, including stimulus range, visual controls, presentation duration of the stimuli and feedback. Methodological recommendations on how to assess the ANS most reliably and most validly were provided. All important methodological aspects to be considered when designing an ANS task or comparing results of different studies were summarized in two practical checklists. (ZPID).
Erfasst von	Leibniz-Institut für Psychologie, Trier
Update	2026/3