Linguistic influences in cognitive arithmetic: comment on Noel, Fias and Brsybaert (1997)
Noël et al. (Noël, M.-P., Fias, W., Brsybaert, M., 1997. About the influence of the presentation format on arithmetical-fact retrieval processes. Cognition 63, 335-374) examined the simple-multiplication errors of 24 Dutch- and 24 French-speaking adults for evidence that number reading interferes with language-specific, number-fact retrieval processes. They concluded that arithmetic memory is not influenced by reading-based interference and is based on a notation and language-independent mental representation. Alternative analyses of their error data, however, provide strong evidence that arithmetic performance is subject to reading-based interference and provide some support for the language-specificity of number-fact memory.
Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. Jamie.Campbell@USask.Ca
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D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008037:Linguistics; D008128:Logic; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D008568:Memory; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000145:classification; D014706:Verbal Learning