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Automatic activation of addition facts in arithmetic word problems.
Josetxu Orrantia1, Laura Rodriguez, Santiago Vicente
1Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain. orrantia@usal.es
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)
|May 15, 2009
Summary
Automatic retrieval of arithmetic facts extends beyond simple problems. This study shows automaticity in complex arithmetic word problems, demonstrating broader cognitive processing.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Mathematics Education
Background:
- Adults typically retrieve answers to simple arithmetic problems automatically.
- Previous research focused mainly on single-digit addition and multiplication.
- The automaticity of retrieval in more complex arithmetic tasks remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether automatic retrieval of arithmetic facts applies to complex arithmetic word problems.
- To determine if cognitive automaticity extends beyond basic arithmetic operations.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a priming procedure with a target-naming task.
- Primes consisted of numbers from arithmetic word problems.
- Targets were congruent or incongruent with the prime, with a neutral prime condition for comparison.
Main Results:
- Faster target naming occurred with congruent primes compared to neutral primes.
- Slower target naming occurred with incongruent primes compared to neutral primes.
- These effects persisted even when mental arithmetic was irrelevant to the task.
Conclusions:
- Automaticity of arithmetic-fact retrieval is not confined to simple addition or multiplication.
- Cognitive automaticity extends to more complex tasks like arithmetic word problems.
- These findings suggest that arithmetic processing is more pervasive than previously thought.
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