Studies of the Munduruku in the Amazon show that;

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The question concerns what studies of the Munduruku in the Amazon reveal about numbers and numerical cognition. Here is a breakdown of each option to unpack why they are right or wrong.
Option 1: 'there is a critical period for learning linear number representations'—This claims a time-bound window for acquiring linear numeric concepts. The Munduruku data do not emphasize a fixed critical period for learning linear representations; rather, the cross-cultural findings highlight variability in how number concepts are structured and used, not a universal, time-restricted window. This makes the statement plausibly incorrect as a general claim about Munduruku numerical cognition.
Option 2: 'numerical precision is limited by language'—This option attributes limits in precise counting to linguistic structure alone. While language can influence how people encode and communicate numbers, the Munduruku example shows that cultures can have different number systems and still perform accurate quantification in context. The claim that precision is strictly limited by language is overly strong and not fully supported by the Munduruku findings, which demonstrate variation in representation rather than a hard linguistic ceiling.
Option 3: 'culture shapes our representation of numbers'—This aligns with the core insight from Munduruku research: numeric concepts and how numbers are represented and processed can vary across cultures, influenced by cultural practices, counting systems, and scholarly descriptions of quantity. This option captures the central idea that numerical cognition is not completely universal but is shaped by cultural context, making it a strong and coherent interpretation of the data.
Option 4: 'only knowledge of the subitising range of numbers is innate'—Subitising (the quick, accurate recognition of small quantities) is often cited as an innate perceptual ability, but stating that only this knowledge is innate ignores the broader cultural and cognitive influences on number representation. The Munduruku findings point to more than just subitising: they indicate culture-dependent representations and uses of numbers beyond innate perceptual limits, so this option is too narrow and misleading.
In summary, option 3 is the statement that best reflects the Munduruku studies by emphasizing that cultural context shapes how numbers are represented and understood, while the other options introduce claims about critical periods, language-imposed precision limits, or an overly narrow view of innate knowledge that are not supported by the described findings.

PSYC30018_2025_SM1 MST practice quiz

Studies of the Munduruku in the Amazon show that;

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