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Abstract
BackgroundPerforming mental subtractions affects time (duration) estimates, and making time estimates disrupts mental subtractions. This interaction has been attributed to the concurrent involvement of time estimation and arithmetic with general intelligence and working memory. Given the extant evidence of a relationship between time and number, here we test the stronger hypothesis that time estimation correlates specifically with mathematical intelligence, and not with general intelligence or working-memory capacity.Methodology/Principal FindingsParticipants performed a (prospective) time estimation experiment, completed several subtests of the WAIS intelligence test, and self-rated their mathematical skill. For five different durations, we found that time estimation correlated with both arithmetic ability and self-rated mathematical skill. Controlling for non-mathematical intelligence (including working memory capacity) did not change the results. Conversely, correlations between time estimation and non-mathematical intelligence either were nonsignificant, or disappeared after controlling for mathematical intelligence.Conclusions/SignificanceWe conclude that time estimation specifically predicts mathematical intelligence. On the basis of the relevant literature, we furthermore conclude that the relationship between time estimation and mathematical intelligence is likely due to a common reliance on spatial ability.
Highlights
Circadian rhythms regulate sleep, body temperature, and the functioning of various organs [1], demonstrating the importance of implicit time estimation to biological systems
Our results show that time estimation predicts mathematical intelligence, whereas it is unrelated to two other forms of intelligence— working-memory capacity (WAIS-R digit span) and non-mathematical reasoning (WAIS-R similarities)
After we partialled out non-mathematical intelligence, all correlations between time estimation and objectively- or subjectively-measured mathematical intelligence remained significant
Summary
Body temperature, and the functioning of various organs [1], demonstrating the importance of implicit time estimation to biological systems. We show that time estimation under low working-memory load correlates with mathematical, and not with general (non-mathematical) intelligence. The arithmetic only involved basic subtractions and Brown did not connect his findings to mathematical intelligence Instead, he argued that arithmetic competed more strongly than pursuit and visual search for both working memory and generalpurpose processing resources. Fink and Neubauer [7] found that time estimates during simple additions and subtractions improved with intelligence These authors too, attributed the effect of basic arithmetic to working memory capacity, general-purpose processing, and general rather than mathematical intelligence. With the literature suggesting a tight link between temporal and numerical processing, our hypothesis presents itself quite naturally: time (duration) estimation should correlate with mathematical, rather than non-mathematical, intelligence, and should not necessarily be affected by working memory capacity
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