ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book reviews the extent and nature of individual differences in arithmetic in childhood and after. It discusses several important components of arithmetical cognition and performance, and describes individual differences in these components: focuses on children, draws on studies of arithmetical cognition in healthy adults and in neuropsychological patients. The book examines the contributions that internal and external factors make to such individual differences. Arithmetical development and arithmetical thinking have been important topics of study for many years, in many parts of the world and from the point of view of many disciplines. Converging evidence from studies of normally developing children, of adults from the general population, of neuropsychological patients, of others with arithmetical disabilities and of people with exceptional arithmetical talent, and from recent brain imaging studies indicates that arithmetical cognition is made up of many components.
