Global Processing in Subitizing: Eye-Tracking Analysis of High and Low Achievers’ Fixation Patterns

• In Event: Student Learning, Reasoning, and Understanding in Mathematics Education

Abstract

This study explores qualitative differences in attentional strategies during subitizing among preschool children with divergent early numeracy performance. Eye-tracking data from 5–6-year-olds (n = 16) completing 512 enumeration trials (2–5 dots) were analyzed, focusing on Time to First Fixation (TTFF) and gaze patterns. High achievers displayed rapid, centralized fixations and grouped scanpaths, indicative of global processing. Low achievers showed delayed, scattered fixations and serial scanpaths, reflecting local processing and counting. The study is grounded in visual global-local processing and spontaneous focusing on numerosity (SFON), offering a nuanced account of attentional mechanisms in early number cognition. Findings support the use of eye-tracking to identify children at risk for mathematical difficulties, with practical implications for early screening and targeted intervention.

Authors

• Mona E. Holmqvist, Lund University

• Catarina Wästerlid, Kristianstad University