Document Detail


Inverse reference in adults-elementary arithmetic.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20565173     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Mauro, LeFevre, and Morris (2003) and Campbell (2008) manipulated problem format to assess university students' simple division and subtraction. Large division problems (dividend > 25; e.g., 42 / 6 = _) and large subtraction problems (minuend > 10; e.g., 13 - 6 = _), but not small problems, were solved more quickly when presented in inverse operation format (e.g., 6 x _ = 42 for division; 6 + _ = 13 for subtraction). They concluded that adults often solve large simple division and subtraction problems by reference to the inverse operation but rely on direct memory retrieval for smaller problems. Their findings, however, might have resulted from unequal practice or mixing of the inverse operations. Here, in Experiment 1 (division) and Experiment 2 (subtraction) normal and inverse formats received equal practice and only one operation was practiced (i.e., division or subtraction). Large divisions and subtractions were solved substantially faster when presented in inverse format, but there was also evidence that subtraction ties (e.g., 12 - 6 = 6) and small subtractions (minuend <or=10) benefited from inverse format. The results affirm that inverse reference is an important element in adult's performance of elementary subtraction and division.
Authors:
Jamie I D Campbell; Nicole M Alberts
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Canadian journal of experimental psychology = Revue canadienne de psychologie expérimentale     Volume:  64     ISSN:  1878-7290     ISO Abbreviation:  Can J Exp Psychol     Publication Date:  2010 Jun 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-06-22     Completed Date:  2010-09-22     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9315513     Medline TA:  Can J Exp Psychol     Country:  Canada    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  77-85     Citation Subset:  IM    
Copyright Information:
(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. jamie.campbell@usask.ca
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adolescent
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Female
Humans
Male
Mathematics
Problem Solving / physiology*
Reaction Time / physiology

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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