AUTHOR=Towse John N., Loetscher Tobias , Brugger Peter 

TITLE=Not all numbers are equal: preferences and biases among children and adults when generating random sequences

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 5 - 2014

YEAR=2014

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00019

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00019

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=We investigate the number preferences of children and adults when generating random digit sequences. Previous research has shown convincingly that adults prefer smaller numbers when randomly choosing between responses 1-6. We analyse randomisation choices made by both children and adults, considering a range of experimental studies and task configurations. Children – most of whom are between 8 and 11 years- show a preference for relatively large numbers when choosing numbers 1-10. Adults show a preference for small numbers with the same response set. We report a modest association between children’s age and numerical bias. However, children also exhibit a small number bias with a smaller response set available, and they show a preference specifically for the numbers 1-3 across many datasets. We argue that number space demonstrates both continuities (numbers 1-3 have a distinct status) and change (a developmentally emerging bias towards the left side of representational space or lower numbers).