Inversion effects on mental arithmetic in English- and Polish-speaking adults

Lewis, Carolin Annette; Bahnmueller, Julia; Wesierska, Marta; Moeller, Korbinian; Göbel, Silke M.

doi:10.1177/1747021819881983

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The inversion effect has already been shown in previous research on number processing and arithmetic in adults (e.g. Lewis et al, 2020 ; Lonnemann & Yan, 2015 ) as well as children (e.g. Klein et al, 2013 ; Zuber et al, 2009 ).…”

Section: Objectivessupporting

confidence: 60%

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Language does arithmetic: linguistic differences in children’s place-value processing

Kraut

Pixner

2022

Psychological Research

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The representation and retrieval of multiplication facts is dependent on linguistic specificities such as number word inversion (i.e., 23 is spoken dreiundzwanzig in German which translates to three and twenty). Previous research has evaluated these language influences in adults. Now this study aims to follow-up on earlier findings and takes a closer look at inversion-related effects on place-value processing during multiplication in children. In a task of choice 46 children, either German- or Italian-speaking, had to pick the right answer out of two options for a given multiplication problem. Already established effects in adult participants such as decade-consistency and table-relatedness were also present in elementary school children, but different between the language groups. For decade-consistent items the effect of table-relatedness was larger for Italian-speaking students than for German-speaking. This indicates that the inversion property in the German language leads to those children putting less emphasis on the tens digit when solving multiplication problems, than Italian-speaking children.

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Section: Objectivessupporting

confidence: 60%

“…Klein et al, 2013 ; Zuber et al, 2009 ) and adults (e.g. Lewis et al, 2020 ; Lonnemann & Yan, 2015 ). As an example for inversion effects, Nuerk et al ( 2005 ) tested the unit-decade compatibility effect in a German- and English-speaking sample.…”

Section: Influences Of Language On Numerical Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Language does arithmetic: linguistic differences in children’s place-value processing

Kraut

Pixner

2022

Psychological Research

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“…In the MR task sessions, the participants were asked to recall the numbers presented on the screen without any vocalizations. Furthermore, to block the effects of local dialects and pronunciations of the numerical digits, participants were asked to mentally recall the numbers in the standard Japanese language ( i.e., 1234 is pronounced “ sen-hyaku-sanjuu-yon ”) ( Lewis et al, 2020 ). For the MA and MR tasks, we verbally confirmed after task completion that participants had conducted the experimental tasks.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental arithmetic modulates temporal variabilities of finger-tapping tasks in a tempo-dependent manner

Irie

Watanabe

Tachibana

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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Background Several psychiatric diseases impair temporal processing. Temporal processing is thought to be based on two domains: supra-second intervals and sub-second intervals. Studies show that temporal processing in sub-second intervals is mainly an automated process. However, the brain functions involved in temporal processing at each time scale remain unclear. We hypothesized that temporal processing in supra-second intervals requires several brain areas, such as the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, intraparietal sulcus (IPS), and inferior parietal lobe, corresponding to various cognitions in a time scale-dependent manner. We focused on a dual-task paradigm (DTP) involving simultaneous performance of cognitive and motor tasks, which is an effective method for screening psychomotor functions; we then designed a DTP comprising finger tapping at various tempi as the temporal processing task and two cognitive tasks (mental arithmetic and reading) that might affect temporal processing. We hoped to determine whether task-dependent interferences on temporal processing in supra-second intervals differed depending on the cognitive tasks involved. Methods The study included 30 participants with no history of neuromuscular disorders. Participants were asked to perform a DTP involving right index finger tapping at varying tempi (0.33, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 4 s inter-tapping intervals). Cognitive tasks comprised mental arithmetic (MA) involving three-digit addition, mental reading (MR) of three- to four-digit numbers, and a control (CTL) task without any cognitive loading. For comparison between tasks, we calculated the SDs of the inter-tapping intervals. Participants’ MA abilities in the three-digit addition task were evaluated. Results The MA and MR tasks significantly increased the SDs of the inter-tapping intervals compared to those of the CTL task in 2–3 s and 3–4 s for the MA and MR tasks, respectively. Furthermore, SD peaks in the finger-tapping tasks involving MA were normalized by those in the CTL task, which were moderately correlated with the participants’ MA ability (r = 0.462, P = 0.010). Discussion Our results established that DTP involving the temporal coordination of finger-tapping and cognitive tasks increased temporal variability in a task- and tempo-dependent manner. Based on the behavioral aspects, we believe that these modulations of temporal variability might result from the interaction between finger function, arithmetic processing, and temporal processing, especially during the “pre-semantic period”. Our findings may help in understanding the temporal processing deficits in various disorders such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and autism.

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“…In particular, languages show a variety of peculiarities for teen number words such as, for example, (i) exceptional number words not indicating the teen range at all (e.g., English: "eleven" and "twelve"); (ii) inverted number words [e.g., English: "fourteen" instead of ten four; Polish: "jedenaście" (oneteen); German: "dreizehn" (three-ten)], or (iii) inconsistent construction of teen number words within a language [e.g., Italian: "undici" (one ten) but "diciotto" (ten eight); cf. Lewis et al (2020)]. This may represent a source of considerable difficulty for children because rather than simply applying a consistent rule for the first two-digit number words children are confronted with, they have to deal with irregularities that may not facilitate the acquisition of numerical and place-value and concepts more broadly.…”

Section: Linguistic Influences In Numerical/ Mathematical Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ties of math and language: A cognitive developmental perspective

Bahnmueller¹,

Lopes-Silva²,

Haase³

et al. 2021

Diversity Dimensions in Mathematics and Language Learning

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Because numerical and mathematical competencies play an important role in our everyday life (e.g., Butterworth et al., 2011), it is crucial to understand underlying cognitive processes and factors influencing the acquisition of these numerical and mathematical competences. In particular, a better understanding at the level of cognitive processes may help to develop targeted interventions, inform, and enhance the quality of mathematics teaching, which may raise student attainment (cf. The Royal Society & The British Academy, 2018).To be able to deal with numbers and mathematical content in a competent and efficient way, a set of concepts, procedures, and (math) facts need to be acquired starting even before (formal) education in kindergarten, preschool, and (elementary) school years. Crucially, and probably more so than it is the case in many other school subjects, mathematics education is largely hierarchical in nature (e.g., Clements & Sarama, 2021). As such it is important and necessary to be able to draw on previously acquired competences and knowledge, because new numerical and mathematical content usually builds on these previously acquired competences, concepts, and procedures.Besides considerable developmental variability on the individual level, international studies evaluating scholastic abilities have consistently reported large cross-cultural differences in mathematical achievement (e.g., OECD, 2019a). In addition to differences in schooling and cultural valuation (e.g., OECD, 2019b), it has been argued that influences of domain-general factors such as language also need to be considered as a potential source of but also resource for overcoming difficulties in the acquisition of numerical and mathematical competences. In particular, language may refer to a range of different linguistic aspects and/or specific aspects of language skills, each of which might interact with specific steps in the acquisition of numerical and mathematical competences.So far, a wide range of studies investigated various language aspects critical for the acquisition of numerical and mathematical concepts. And indeed, findings of many of these studies are in line with a weak Whorfian hypothesis suggesting that different aspects of language seem to influence the way we acquire, think about, perceive, represent, and apply numerical and mathematical concepts, procedures, and (math) facts. In an attempt to classify and structure previously observed associations of language and mathematics as well as influences Open Access.

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Inversion effects on mental arithmetic in English- and Polish-speaking adults

Cited by 7 publications

References 26 publications

Language does arithmetic: linguistic differences in children’s place-value processing

Language does arithmetic: linguistic differences in children’s place-value processing

Mental arithmetic modulates temporal variabilities of finger-tapping tasks in a tempo-dependent manner

Ties of math and language: A cognitive developmental perspective

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