ABSTRACT
Mathematical cognition researchers are interested in how mathematical understanding and performance develops from infancy to adulthood, the factors that explain individual differences in mathematical performance and why some individuals find mathematics so difficult. As would be expected for an interdisciplinary field, research in mathematical cognition employs a diverse range of methodologies including experimental cognitive, neuroimaging, intervention and individual differences research. The recognisably mathematical activity that young children engage in is to learn the count list and understand what the numbers mean. Research has shown that this seemingly simple activity is in fact very complex and involves a protracted period of development before number words and symbols become grounded in meaning. Research with infants has explored the nature of numerical representations and questioned whether infants and young children are capable of processing numerical information before they have learnt symbolic representations.
