Links between spatial and numerical thinking are well established in studies of adult cognition. Here, we review recent research on the origins and development of these links, with an emphasis on the formative role of experience in typical development and on the theoretical insights to be gained from infant cognition. This research points to three important influences on the development of spatial-numerical associations: innate mechanisms linking space and nonsymbolic number, gross and fine motor activity that couples spatial location to both symbolic and nonsymbolic number, and culturally bound activities (e.g., reading, writing, and counting) that shape the relationship between spatial direction and symbolic number.
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