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Gray, C. & G. Mulhern (1995). Does children's memory for addition facts
predict general mathematical ability? Perceptual and Motor
Skills. v81, pp163-167.
Author of the summary: Jim Davies, 1999, jim@jimdavies.org
Cite this paper for:
- Automaticity of addition facts correlates with math ability
- The smaller number in the fact is correlated with RT
10 year olds are given simple addition problems (x + y = ? where x and
y are single digits.. Which of the following structural variables best
predicts the RT (reaction time)?
- X (first digit)
- Y (second digit)
- MIN (smaller of X and Y)
- MAX
- SUM
- SUM-SQUARED
Experiment:
Number of Subjects: 21
Kind of Subjects:
5th graders, 11 girls, 10 boys, mean age 9.7
Method:
Were presented addition facts on a computer. RT was measured. There
were 100 trials, with all possible pairings of numbers 0-9. Also a
test of math abitlity was given a week earlier (Group Mathematics Test C).
No feedback.
-
- Hypothesis:
How automatized are addition facts in 10 yr olds?
- Result:
Results support the MIN model, with time increasing linearly for
nontie problems (X and Y are not equal). Note that MIN is highly
intercorrelated with other predictor variables, so six seperate
bivariate regression analyses were performed for each S (subject).
All 21 children obtained best fit fir MIN (p<.0005). Tie
problems were constant. The automaticity was operationalized
to be the difference between the time on the tie problems
as compared to the non-ties.
-
- Hypothesis:
There is a relationship between automaticity and math
ability.
- Result:
Correlates -.45 (p < .05).
Maybe there is a causal relationship between memorized addition facts
and math ability?
Summary author's notes:
- Adults have more retrieval, and kids have more counting.
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