Abstract
Throughout history, humans have invented and used mathematics to solve meaningful problems critical to survival and prosperity. To advance our understanding of mathematical cognitive development and achievement, it is important to place research within theoretical frameworks that allow us to interpret and apply results. In this chapter, I discuss evolutionary developmental psychology as a meta-theory for considering important questions relevant to understanding neuroscience research on mathematical cognitive development. Then, I use a developmental systems approach to describe how genetics, neural activity, and experiences in environmental niches dynamically interact in the development of evolved probabilistic cognitive mechanisms. As an example, I describe biologically primary mathematical abilities that may have been selected for in evolution to solve recurrent problems, passed on via genetics, and instantiated in human brain development. The process of their development into biologically secondary mathematical abilities, which are cultural inventions that build upon biologically primary abilities, is then described. I present Dehaene and colleagues’ triple-code model of numerical processing as the predominant neuroscience-based theory of mathematical cognition. I conclude by arguing that there is a place for neuroscience in the field of cognitive development and advocating for the integration of scientific findings across levels of analysis.
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Brown, R.D. (2018). Theories for Understanding the Neuroscience of Mathematical Cognitive Development. In: Neuroscience of Mathematical Cognitive Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76409-2_1
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