Understanding How We Remember Multiplication Facts
Author Information
Author(s): Korbinian Moeller, Elise Klein, Martin H Fischer, Hans-Christoph Nuerk, Klaus Willmes
Primary Institution: Knowledge Media Research Center (IWM-KMRC), Tuebingen, Germany
Hypothesis
Does concurrent articulation impair access to multiplication facts stored in memory?
Conclusion
Concurrent articulation slows down the retrieval of multiplication facts, suggesting they are at least partially stored in a verbal format.
Supporting Evidence
- Multiplicatively related triplets were classified faster than non-related triplets.
- Concurrent articulation specifically slowed down responses for multiplicative triplets.
- The multiplicativity effect was preserved but reduced under concurrent articulation.
Takeaway
When we try to say something while doing math, it makes it harder to remember multiplication facts. This shows that we might think of these facts in words.
Methodology
Participants performed a number bisection task while repeating a non-word string to test the effect of concurrent articulation on multiplication fact retrieval.
Potential Biases
Potential biases may arise from the specific demographic of participants, all being right-handed students.
Limitations
The study's sample size was small, and the results may not generalize to larger populations.
Participant Demographics
12 right-handed students (6 females, 6 males) with a mean age of 21.3 years.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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