Verbal but not visual-spatial working memory contributes to complex arithmetic calculation.
mathematics
span tasks
verbal working memory
visual-spatial working memory
Journal
The British journal of developmental psychology
ISSN: 2044-835X
Titre abrégé: Br J Dev Psychol
Pays: England
ID NLM: 8308022
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
11 2023
11 2023
Historique:
revised:
04
05
2023
received:
07
04
2022
accepted:
26
06
2023
medline:
4
10
2023
pubmed:
7
7
2023
entrez:
7
7
2023
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
The contribution of working memory to mathematics has been extensively studied. It has been proposed that verbal working memory (VWM) and visual-spatial working memory (VSWM) have distinct contributions, but results have been inconclusive. Here, we hypothesized that VWM and VSWM contribute differentially to separate sub-domains of mathematics. To test this hypothesis, we enrolled 199 primary school students and measured their VWM and VSWM with number/letter/matrix backward span tasks, and tested mathematics performance with simple subtraction, complex subtraction, multi-step calculation and number series completion, while controlling for several aspects of cognition. We found that while letter backward span had a significant contribution to complex subtraction, multi-step computation and number series completion, number backward span only had a significant contribution to multi-step computation, and matrix span had no effect on any math task. These results suggest that only VWM associated with complex mathematics, which might reflect verbal rehearsal. In contrast, VSWM does not appear to associated with mathematics.
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
385-399Informations de copyright
© 2023 The British Psychological Society.
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