Abstract

Numerical skills develop in the first years of life and are the base of later mathematical learning, as well as the academic and labour success in the adult age. This article aims to review the latest empirical evidence on early numerical cognition from behavioural approaches. For this, the main milestones of numerical development are reviewed in relation to the acquisition of later arithmetic skills. The focus of this review is in the intrinsic and extrinsic factors during the first years of age. Still open controversies in the field of number cognition are also reviewed