Follow-up questions influence the measured number knowledge in the Give a number task

The Give a number task is one of the most frequently used tests to measure the number knowledge of preschoolers at the time when they acquire the meaning of symbolic numbers. In the task, the experimenter asks for a specific number of objects from the child. While the literature utilizes several versions of the task, and usually it is presumed that the different versions are equivalent and they do not have an effect on the measured number knowledge. In the present study the specific potential effect of the follow-up questions after a trial on the measured number knowledge is investigated. Three versions of the follow-up questions are compared. The results demonstrate that different versions have an effect on the measured number knowledge of the children. These results highlight that the follow-up questions should be considered in the works utilizing the Give a number task, and more generally, various versions of the Give a Number task may have an essential effect on the measured number knowledge, partly accounting for conflicting findings in the literature.