Affective and cognitive factors associated with Chinese and Italian children's arithmetic performance
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View abstract on PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.Chinese children excel in arithmetic tasks compared to Italian children, with cognitive factors like memory and executive functions playing similar roles across cultures. Cultural emphasis on arithmetic fluency may explain performance differences.
Area Of Science
- Cognitive Psychology
- Cross-Cultural Psychology
- Educational Psychology
Background
- Investigating cognitive and affective factors in cross-cultural arithmetic performance.
- Examining differences between Chinese and Italian third- and fourth-graders.
Purpose Of The Study
- To explore cognitive and affective influences on arithmetic task performance across cultures.
- To understand how factors like memory, executive functions, and math anxiety relate to arithmetic skills in Chinese and Italian children.
Main Methods
- 404 third- and fourth-graders from China and Italy completed exact arithmetic, estimation tasks, and cognitive assessments.
- Cognitive tasks included short-term memory, executive functions (inhibition, shifting), and fluid reasoning.
- Mathematical anxiety levels were measured for all participants.
Main Results
- Chinese children outperformed Italian children in exact arithmetic and shifting tasks.
- Italian children showed better performance in visuospatial updating and reported higher math anxiety.
- Path analyses indicated similar relationships between cognitive factors, anxiety, and arithmetic performance across both groups, with a unique link between updating and estimation for Chinese children.
Conclusions
- Chinese children's superior performance in exact arithmetic is likely linked to educational emphasis on fluency.
- The unique predictive role of visuospatial updating in arithmetic estimation for Chinese children suggests practice benefits.
- Cultural and educational factors significantly influence cognitive and affective aspects of arithmetic performance.
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