When is working memory important for arithmetic?: the impact of strategy and age
Our ability to perform arithmetic relies heavily on working memory, the manipulation and maintenance of information in mind. Previous research has found that in adults, procedural strategies, particularly counting, rely on working memory to a greater extent than retrieval strategies. During childhoo...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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Public Library of Science
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48456/ |
| _version_ | 1848797767732822016 |
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| author | Cragg, Lucy Richardson, Sophie Hubber, Paula J. Keeble, Sarah Gilmore, Camilla |
| author_facet | Cragg, Lucy Richardson, Sophie Hubber, Paula J. Keeble, Sarah Gilmore, Camilla |
| author_sort | Cragg, Lucy |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Our ability to perform arithmetic relies heavily on working memory, the manipulation and maintenance of information in mind. Previous research has found that in adults, procedural strategies, particularly counting, rely on working memory to a greater extent than retrieval strategies. During childhood there are changes in the types of strategies employed, as well as an increase in the accuracy and efficiency of strategy execution. As such it seems likely that the role of working memory in arithmetic may also change, however children and adults have never been directly compared. This study used traditional dual-task methodology, with the addition of a control load condition, to investigate the extent to which working memory requirements for different arithmetic strategies change with age between 9-11 years, 12-14 years and young adulthood. We showed that both children and adults employ working memory when solving arithmetic problems, no matter what strategy they choose. This study highlights the importance of considering working memory in understanding the difficulties that some children and adults have with mathematics, as well as the need to include working memory in theoretical models of mathematical cognition. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:09:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-48456 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:09:07Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-484562020-05-04T19:22:15Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48456/ When is working memory important for arithmetic?: the impact of strategy and age Cragg, Lucy Richardson, Sophie Hubber, Paula J. Keeble, Sarah Gilmore, Camilla Our ability to perform arithmetic relies heavily on working memory, the manipulation and maintenance of information in mind. Previous research has found that in adults, procedural strategies, particularly counting, rely on working memory to a greater extent than retrieval strategies. During childhood there are changes in the types of strategies employed, as well as an increase in the accuracy and efficiency of strategy execution. As such it seems likely that the role of working memory in arithmetic may also change, however children and adults have never been directly compared. This study used traditional dual-task methodology, with the addition of a control load condition, to investigate the extent to which working memory requirements for different arithmetic strategies change with age between 9-11 years, 12-14 years and young adulthood. We showed that both children and adults employ working memory when solving arithmetic problems, no matter what strategy they choose. This study highlights the importance of considering working memory in understanding the difficulties that some children and adults have with mathematics, as well as the need to include working memory in theoretical models of mathematical cognition. Public Library of Science 2017-12-11 Article PeerReviewed Cragg, Lucy, Richardson, Sophie, Hubber, Paula J., Keeble, Sarah and Gilmore, Camilla (2017) When is working memory important for arithmetic?: the impact of strategy and age. PLoS ONE, 12 (12). e0188693/1-e0188693/18. ISSN 1932-6203 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0188693 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0188693 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0188693 |
| spellingShingle | Cragg, Lucy Richardson, Sophie Hubber, Paula J. Keeble, Sarah Gilmore, Camilla When is working memory important for arithmetic?: the impact of strategy and age |
| title | When is working memory important for arithmetic?: the impact of strategy and age |
| title_full | When is working memory important for arithmetic?: the impact of strategy and age |
| title_fullStr | When is working memory important for arithmetic?: the impact of strategy and age |
| title_full_unstemmed | When is working memory important for arithmetic?: the impact of strategy and age |
| title_short | When is working memory important for arithmetic?: the impact of strategy and age |
| title_sort | when is working memory important for arithmetic?: the impact of strategy and age |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48456/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48456/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48456/ |