2025/05/05 by Shuyuan Yu, C. Zhao, Jo‐Anne LeFevre · 1 voice
Mathematics · #Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills
paper · doi:10.1037/cep0000369
openalex publication_date 2025/05/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/26
Is learning history preserved in the mental representation of simple arithmetic facts? We compared addition and multiplication of Chinese-educated students to address this question. Chinese-educated students learn to memorize multiplication problems in the min × max order (e.g., 6 × 8, referred to as min-first). In contrast, for addition, they are taught to decompose the smaller digit to make 10 (e.g., 8 + 6 = 8 + 2 + 4). We hypothesized that these learning experiences would be reflected in the preferred order of operands, that is, min-first for multiplication and max-first for addition. Forty-three Chinese-educated participants solved single-digit multiplication and addition problems. As anticipated, participants responded faster when addition and multiplication were presented in their preferred orders. One implication of this research is that experiences during training can be designed to enhance arithmetic fluency. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).