Résumé
Time consciousness is the composition of space, memory, order, rhythm and language. A dysfunction in the construction of this capacity can lead to difficulties in the skills necessary for the practice of mathematics and even be a cause of dyscalculia. Indeed, studies conducted over the last thirty years show that a parallel can be drawn between the skills developed by time consciousness and those required during mathematical exercises. We assumed that skills of order and succession, acquired through temporal structuring, are necessary for solving state transformation problems and tried to clarify the presence of this link by checking our subjects’ performance on different time-related and mathematical tasks using a test protocol. Our results do not allow us to determine precisely what skills are common to state transformation problem solving and temporal organization, but we were able to note that the order in which we presented the instructions, the unknown being in a central position and the performance on rhythm recognition tests were correlated. We also found variability in errors and response times depending on the order in which we presented the instructions and the position of the unknown. We believe, following the data from existing literature, that working memory and abstraction skills could be the common denominators of these correlations and that a slowdown or a deficit in one of these skills would negatively influence the temporal and mathematical skills of the subjects. Further investigations are needed to compare our data to a population of subjects with temporal or mathematical disorders.