The role of spatial and verbal working memory in approximation and addition [microform]
- Bib ID:
- 3295505
- Format:
- Book and Microform
- Author:
- Wilson, Anna Juliet
- Description:
- 145 p.
- Summary:
-
Establishing the role that working memory plays in mathematics is important goal, particularly due to potential applications for the field of education. However, previous research on this topic has produced conflicting results. In particular, prior dual task studies have rarely examined the role of spatial working memory, and included arithmetic tasks likely to load on only a subset of proposed numerical codes and processes. In this dissertation, I report dual-task studies on the effect of spatial and verbal working memory loads on tasks proposed to draw on the magnitude and verbal representation codes identified in Dehaene's (1992) triple-code model. The first three experiments compared the influence of spatial and verbal memory load on approximate addition ("approximation") and exact addition ("addition") tasks similar to those used by Dehaene, Spelke, Pinel, Stanescu, & Tsivkin (1999), and hypothesized to load respectively on magnitude and verbal codes.
These experiments showed a single dissociation pattern: approximation showed more interference under a spatial working memory load than did addition, but this interference pattern was not seen under a verbal working memory load. These results provide additional support to the hypothesis that the magnitude code is analog in nature. They also suggest that it shares resources with spatial working memory, and is thus not completely domain-specific. The next four experiments further examined the influence of different types of verbal working memory load on the approximation and addition tasks, and showed another single dissociation pattern: addition suffers more interference from a verbal semantic working memory task than does approximation. This effect was not observed using a phonological version of the same task, and therefore supports Dehaene and Cohen's (1995) hypothesis that verbal code is at a level higher than the phonemic level.
Together, the two sets of experiments reveal a double-dissociation between the working memory resources recruited by approximation and addition.
- Notes:
-
- (UnM)AAI3102195
- Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 64-08, Section: B, page: 4081.
- Adviser: Ed Awh.
- Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Oregon, 2003.
- Reproduction:
- Microfiche. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms International.
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive
- Other authors/contributors:
- University of Oregon
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
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Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Literary Dramatic Musical
- Published status:
- Unpublished
- Creation date:
- 2003
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