ABSTRACT
Numerical cognition and categorisation are two of our cognitive abilities that allow us to limit the amount of information required to represent our external environment. Starting with a discussion of numerical cognition, the chapter first focuses on whether numeric skills are innate and whether we have a natural sense of numbers and proportions. Aspects of numerical cognition that are discussed include the basic properties of numbers, subitizing, counting, estimating, the SNARC effect, and the mental number line. Mental arithmetic is discussed by starting from the classic models developed in the 1970s, and by introducing a more modern variant of these models. A variety of different theoretical models that focus on the nature of a numeric code are also discussed. This section closes by briefly covering dyscalculia. The second half of the chapter discusses categorisation processes. Starting from a brief discussion of classic studies, from the 1960s, the chapter focuses on the distinction between well-defined and ill-defined categories before introducing the classic, prototype, exemplar, and decision models. The nature of concepts is also extensively discussed. This discussion is followed by proposing a modern approach to categorisation that is based on the simplicity principle.
