The nature of quantities influences the representation of arithmetic problems: evidence from drawings and solving procedures in children and adults
Category
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Gros, H., Thibaut, J.P., Sander, E.
Year
2017
Title
The nature of quantities influences the representation of arithmetic problems: evidence from drawings and solving procedures in children and adults
Journal / book / conference
Proceedings of the 39th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society
Abstract
When solving arithmetic problems, semantic factors influence the representations built (Gamo, Sander & Richard, 2010). In order to specify such interpretative processes, we created structurally isomorphic word problems that could be solved with two distinct algorithms. We tested whether a distinction between cardinal and ordinal quantities would lead solvers, due to their daily-life knowledge, to build different representations, influencing their strategies as well as the nature of their drawings. We compared 5th grade children and adults in order to assess the validity of this hypothesis with participants of varying arithmetic proficiency. Results confirmed that the distinction between cardinal and ordinal situations led to different solving strategies and to different drawings among both age groups. This study supports the cardinal versus ordinal ontological distinction and calls for the integration of the role of daily-life semantics when accounting for arithmetic problem solving processes.
Pages
439-444
Keywords
arithmetic problem solving; interpreted structure; semantic encoding; strategy choice