Efficiency of Arithmetic Procedures Modulates the Problem-Size Effect in Subtraction

The aim of this study was to examine whether differences in strategy selection and/or strategy efficiency can explain the modulation of the problem-size effect by arithmetic skill. More specifically, we wondered whether arithmetic skill increases the use of retrieval strategy in large problems, and/...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Spanish journal of psychology 2015-01, Vol.18, p.E41-E41, Article E41
Main Authors: Núñez-Peña, M. Isabel, Colomé, Angels, Tubau, Elisabet
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aptitude - physiology
Arithmetic
Cognició
Cognition
Efficiency
Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience
Female
Humans
Male
Mathematical Concepts
Memory
Multiplication & division
Problem Solving - physiology
Psicologia social
Psychologists
Psychology
Reaction time
Retrieval
Social psychology
Verification
Young Adult
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Summary:The aim of this study was to examine whether differences in strategy selection and/or strategy efficiency can explain the modulation of the problem-size effect by arithmetic skill. More specifically, we wondered whether arithmetic skill increases the use of retrieval strategy in large problems, and/or enhances the efficiency of either retrieval or procedural strategies. The performance of highly-skilled (HS) and less highly-skilled (LS) individuals on a subtraction verification task was analyzed according to problem size and to the strategy reported on a trial-by-trial basis after each problem. The problem size effect was larger for LS individuals than for their HS peers, both in response time and in hit rate. Nevertheless, groups did not differ regarding the strategy reported for each subtraction size. As expected, problems in which retrieval strategy was reported were solved more quickly and more accurately than problems solved by procedural strategies. Responses using retrieval strategy were equally fast in the two groups, but HS individuals performed better than LS when using procedural strategies. The results therefore suggest that the differences in behavioral measures between groups might specifically be due to differences in the efficiency of procedural strategies.
ISSN:1138-7416
1988-2904
DOI:10.1017/sjp.2015.43