Follow-up questions influence the measured number knowledge in the Give-a-number task
Attila Krajcsi
Abstract
The Give-a-number task is one of the most frequently used tests to measure the number knowledge of preschoolers at the time they acquire the meaning of symbolic numbers. In the task, an experimenter asks for a specific number of objects from a child. The literature utilizes several versions of this task, and usually it is assumed that the different versions are equivalent and that they do not have an effect on the measured number knowledge. In the present study, the specific potential effect of the follow-up questions posed after a trial on the measured number knowledge is investigated. Three versions of follow-up questions are compared. The results demonstrate that different versions affect the measured number knowledge of children. These results highlight that follow-up questions should be considered in studies using the Give-a-number task, and more generally, various versions of the Give-a-number task may have an essential effect on the measured number knowledge, thereby partly accounting for conflicting findings in the literature.