Department of Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, United States; Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, United States.
Department of Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, United States; UTSA Neurosciences Institute, The University of Texas at San Antonio, United States.
Biol Psychol. 2019 Nov;148:107745. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.107745. Epub 2019 Aug 27.
The effect of arithmetic problem size is widespread in behavior (e.g., slower responses to 8 × 7 than 2 × 2). Here, we measure event related potentials (ERPs) to determine how the problem size effect unfolds under different conditions. Adults judged the correctness of simple multiplication problems (2 × 4 = 8 versus 9) that varied in size and operand number format (written digits versus spoken number words). The P300, an ERP component associated with stimulus categorization, was measured from solution onset. P300 amplitude was greatest for small and correct solutions, as expected for easily categorized stimuli. Large incorrect solutions elicited a disproportionately reduced P300, an interaction not measurable in verification behavior. Additionally, ERP measures revealed effects of operand format preceding, but not following, solution onset. The significance of these findings for theories of mathematical cognition are addressed.
算术问题大小的影响在行为中普遍存在（例如，8×7 的反应比 2×2 慢）。在这里，我们测量事件相关电位（ERPs），以确定在不同条件下问题大小效应是如何展开的。成年人判断简单乘法问题（2×4=8 与 9）的正确性，这些问题在大小和操作数格式（书面数字与口语数字词）上有所不同。P300 是一种与刺激分类相关的 ERP 成分，从解决方案开始时进行测量。正如预期的那样，对于易于分类的刺激，小而正确的解决方案会产生最大的 P300 幅度。大而错误的解决方案引起不成比例的 P300 减少，这是在验证行为中无法测量的交互作用。此外，ERP 测量结果显示，操作数格式的影响出现在解决方案开始之前，但不在之后。这些发现对数学认知理论的意义将得到探讨。
