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Multimedia Battery for Assessment of Cognitive and Basic Skills in Mathematics (BM-PROMA)

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Negative numbers in simple arithmetic.

Runa Das¹, Jo-Anne LeFevre, Marcie Penner-Wilger

¹Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)

|February 16, 2010

Summary

Adults solved arithmetic problems with negative numbers. Recasted problems with negative signs took longer, especially for addition, suggesting the problem type, not just negative numbers, impacts processing.

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Numerical Cognition
Mathematical Cognition

Background:

Understanding how the human brain processes numerical information is crucial.
Investigating the cognitive load associated with negative numbers in arithmetic is an ongoing area of research.
Previous studies have explored number representation and calculation, but the specific impact of negative signs in varied arithmetic operations requires further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine if negative numbers are processed differently than positive numbers in arithmetic.
To compare solution times for standard arithmetic problems versus those with explicitly negative numbers.
To analyze the influence of the negative sign on addition and subtraction operations.

Main Methods:

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Two experiments were conducted with adult participants (N = 66).

Participants solved standard addition and subtraction problems (e.g., 3 + 4, 7 - 4).

Participants also solved recasted problems with explicit negative signs (e.g., 3 - (-4), 7 + (-4), (-4) + 7).

Main Results:

Solution times for recasted problems were significantly slower than for standard problems.
This time difference was notably larger for addition than for subtraction.
Problem size effects remained consistent or decreased in recasted problems, indicating no interference with mental calculation.

Conclusions:

The conceptual structure of an arithmetic problem (addition vs. subtraction) plays a more significant role in cognitive processing than the mere presence of negative numbers.
The negative sign may implicitly prime a subtraction operation, affecting processing speed, particularly in addition.
Cognitive strategies for handling negative numbers are influenced by the fundamental nature of the arithmetic operation.