Humans are thought to use the approximate number system (ANS) to make quick approximations based on quantity even before learning to count. However, there has long been controversy regarding the salience of number versus other stimulus dimensions throughout development, including a recent proposal that number sense is derived from a sense of general magnitude. Here, we used a regression approach to disentangle numerical acuity from sensitivity to total surface area in both 5-year-old children and adults. We found that both children and adults displayed higher acuity when making numerosity judgments than total surface area judgments. Adults were largely able to ignore irrelevant stimulus features when making numerosity or total area judgments. Children were more biased by numerosity when making total area judgments than by total area when making numerosity judgments. These results provide evidence that number is more salient than total surface area even before the start of formal education and are inconsistent with the Sense of Magnitude proposal.

人们认为人类甚至在学习计数之前就使用近似数系统 (ANS) 来根据数量进行快速近似。然而，长期以来，关于数字与其他刺激维度在整个发展过程中的显着性一直存在争议，包括最近的一项提议，即数字感源自于一般大小感。在这里，我们使用回归方法将数值敏锐度与 5 岁儿童和成人的总表面积的敏感性分开。我们发现，与总表面积判断相比，儿童和成人在进行数量判断时都表现出更高的敏锐度。在做出数量或总面积判断时，成年人在很大程度上能够忽略不相关的刺激特征。儿童在进行总面积判断时比在进行数量判断时对总面积更偏向于数量。这些结果提供的证据表明，即使在正规教育开始之前，数字也比总表面积更显着，并且与 Sense of Magnitude 提议不一致。