Chang Hye-Sang, Gibson Janet M
Grinnell College, Department of Psychology, IA 50112, USA.
Am J Psychol. 2011 Fall;124(3):313-24. doi: 10.5406/amerjpsyc.124.3.0313.
The odd-even effect in numerical processing has been explained as the easier processing of even numbers compared with odd numbers. We investigated this effect in Sudoku puzzles, a reasoning problem that uses numbers but does not require arithmetic operations. Specifically, we asked whether the odd-even effect occurred with Sudoku puzzles and whether individual differences in working memory (WM), aging, and experience with Sudoku modulated this effect. We manipulated the presence of odd and even numbers in Sudoku puzzles, measured WM with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and backward digit span task, tested older and younger adults, and collected Sudoku experience frequency. Performance on Sudoku was more accurate for even puzzles than odd ones. Younger, experienced, and higher-WM participants were more accurate on Sudoku, but these individual difference variables did not interact with the odd-even effect. Odd numbers may impose more cognitive load than even numbers, but future research is needed to examine how age, experience, or WM may influence the odd-even effect.
数字处理中的奇偶效应被解释为偶数比奇数更容易处理。我们在数独谜题中研究了这种效应，数独是一种使用数字但不需要算术运算的推理问题。具体而言，我们探讨了数独谜题中是否会出现奇偶效应，以及工作记忆（WM）、年龄和数独经验方面的个体差异是否会调节这种效应。我们操纵了数独谜题中奇数和偶数的存在情况，用威斯康星卡片分类测验和倒背数字广度任务测量工作记忆，测试了老年人和年轻人，并收集了数独经验频率。偶数谜题的数独表现比奇数谜题更准确。年轻、有经验且工作记忆水平较高的参与者在数独上表现更准确，但这些个体差异变量并未与奇偶效应产生交互作用。奇数可能比偶数施加更多的认知负荷，但未来需要研究年龄、经验或工作记忆如何影响奇偶效应。
