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Published on: September 5, 2019
Interoperation transfer in Chinese-English bilinguals' arithmetic
Jamie I D Campbell1, Roxanne R Dowd
1Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, 9 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A5, Canada. jamie.campbell@usask.ca
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|June 20, 2012
Summary
Bilinguals showed language-specific memory effects for math facts. Practicing multiplication in one language impaired addition performance in that same language, suggesting distinct number-fact representations.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Bilingualism Research
- Neuroscience of Memory
Background:
- Bilingual individuals possess distinct language systems.
- The representation of numerical cognition in bilinguals remains an active area of research.
- Understanding how practice in one language affects cognitive tasks in another is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate interoperation transfer of practice in bilinguals' memory for arithmetic facts.
- To determine if number-fact representations are distinct in Chinese (L1) and English (L2).
- To examine language-specific effects on memory retrieval.
Main Methods:
- Adult Chinese-English bilinguals practiced multiplication facts, with subsets answered in L1 and L2.
- Participants then solved corresponding and control addition problems in either L1 or L2.
- Response times were measured to assess performance costs.
Main Results:
- Negative transfer was observed for multiplication practice impacting corresponding addition problems.
- A significant response time cost (retrieval-induced forgetting) occurred for large addition problems (sum > 10) when practiced in the same language.
- This effect was relative to practice in the other language.
Conclusions:
- Chinese-English bilinguals appear to have distinct, language-specific memory stores for multiplication and addition facts.
- Language plays a significant role in the organization and retrieval of numerical information.
- These findings contribute to the understanding of bilingual memory systems and cognitive transfer.
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