title: Distraction of Mental Arithmetic by Background Speech.
abstract: When solving mental arithmetic problems, one can easily be distracted by someone speaking in the background and this distraction is greater if the speech comprises numbers. We explored the basis of this disruption by asking participants to solve mental addition problems (e.g., "45 + 17 = ?") in three different conditions: background speech comprising numbers in ascending order (e.g., "61, 62, 63, 64, 65"), background speech comprising numbers in descending order (e.g., "65, 64, 63, 62, 61"), and quiet. Performance was best in quiet, worse in the descending numbers condition, and poorest in the ascending numbers condition. In view of these findings, we suggest that disruption arises as a by-product of preventing the primed, but inaccurate, candidate responses from assuming the control of action. Alternative explanations are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Applied Psychology, Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK.
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Perham
authors.affiliation: 2 School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, UK.|3 Department of Building, Energy, and Environmental Engineering, University of Gävle, Sweden.
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Marsh
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Applied Psychology, Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Clarkson
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Applied Psychology, Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK.
authors.forename: Rosie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Building, Energy, and Environmental Engineering, University of Gävle, Sweden.
authors.forename: Patrik
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sörqvist
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D011340:Problem Solving; D013067:Speech Perception; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Habitual responses; Irrelevant sound; Mental arithmetic; Priming