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The influence of the place-value structure of the Arabic number ...

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is reflected in <strong>the</strong> human <strong>number</strong> magnitude representation. In a second paragraph, <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>influence</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>place</strong>-<strong>value</strong> understanding on <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> numerical competencies will be<br />

elaborated on.<br />

On <strong>the</strong> representation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>place</strong>-<strong>value</strong> <strong>structure</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Arabic</strong> <strong>number</strong> system<br />

Addressing <strong>the</strong> question whe<strong>the</strong>r and if so, in what way <strong>the</strong> <strong>place</strong>-<strong>value</strong> <strong>structure</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>Arabic</strong> <strong>number</strong> system is retained in our representation <strong>of</strong> two-digit <strong>number</strong>s, <strong>the</strong> results <strong>of</strong><br />

Studies 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7 are meaningful regarding (i) <strong>the</strong> <strong>influence</strong> <strong>of</strong> presentational format,<br />

(ii) <strong>place</strong>-<strong>value</strong> processing in more complex numerical tasks such as <strong>the</strong> <strong>number</strong> bisection task<br />

and mental addition, and (iii) <strong>the</strong> nature <strong>of</strong> two-digit <strong>number</strong> magnitude representation (i.e.,<br />

holistic vs. decomposed vs. hybrid). <strong>The</strong>se facets will be discussed in turn.<br />

Presentational format and <strong>place</strong>-<strong>value</strong> processing<br />

Recent criticism suggested that decomposed processing <strong>of</strong> tens and units may be<br />

determined by ei<strong>the</strong>r presentational format or mode <strong>of</strong> presentation. In 2005, Zhang and Wang<br />

claimed decomposed processing <strong>of</strong> tens and units to be limited to <strong>the</strong> case when both to-becompared<br />

<strong>number</strong>s (i.e., probe and standard) are presented and thus represented externally –<br />

an argument also put forward by Ganor-Stern, Pinhas, and Tzelgov (2008). On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand,<br />

<strong>the</strong>se authors presented evidence suggesting holistic processing <strong>of</strong> two-digit <strong>number</strong>s in which<br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>place</strong>-<strong>value</strong> <strong>structure</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Arabic</strong> <strong>number</strong> system is not retained when (i) a given <strong>number</strong><br />

has to be compared to a fixed internally memorized standard (cf. Zhang & Wang, 2005) and<br />

when (ii) <strong>the</strong> to-be-compared <strong>number</strong>s are presented sequentially instead <strong>of</strong> simultaneously<br />

(cf. Ganor-Stern et al., 2008). In this context, <strong>the</strong> results <strong>of</strong> Study 1 clearly indicate that<br />

decomposed processing did not depend on an external and simultaneous presentation <strong>of</strong> both<br />

probe and standard. Ra<strong>the</strong>r, we were able to show that <strong>the</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> unit based effects (such as<br />

<strong>the</strong> compatibility effects) in studies using a fixed internal standard may be attributed to<br />

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