Lakhasly

Despite their applications in ordinal activities, some people fail to effectively perform mental arithmetic tasks, especially complex ones, in situations in which high mental procedures are required. Indeed, several studies have found that task complexity limits mental arithmetic accuracy (Cavdarogle & Knops, 2015; Metcelfe & Campbell, 2011; Popescu et al., 2016; Prado et al., 2014; Seitz & Schumann-Hengsteler, 2000; Stanescu-Cosson et al., 2000).
Previous studies have found that dependence on mental resources varies according to task features, including operation type (Cohen et al., 2000; Connaughton et al., 2017; Dehaene, 1992; Ischebeck et al., 2006; Mihulowicz et al., 2014; Prado et al., 2014), complexity (Campbell & Xue, 2001; Cavdarogle & Knops, 2015; Galy & Melan, 2015; Metcelfe & Campbell, 2011; Rosenberg-Lee et al., 2009; Setiz & Schumann-Hengsteler, 2000; Stanescu-Cosson et al., 2000) and presentation format (Imbo & LeFevre, 2010; Trbovich & LeFevre, 2003). The results of these studies question the extent to which task features impact arithmetic performance. Therefore, in the current research, we aimed to directly compare the effects of several task demands related to operation type, working memory load (Experiment 1), and presentation format and complexity (Experiment 2) on mental arithmetic performance and ascertain whether the setting of the task impacts the solving strategies that are employed.
The role of working memory components in mental arithmetic has been a core topic of many numerical cognition studies. As working memory has separate phonological and visual-spatial components, among other components (Baddeley, 2000), previous studies (Cragg et al., 2017; Hubber et al., 2013; Imbo & LeFevre, 2010; Lee & Kang, 2002; Logie et al., 1994; Otsuka & Osaka, 2015) have used dual-task paradigms (arithmetic and working memory) to better understand the working memory resources that are crucial for solving mental arithmetic problems. A seminal study in this field that was performed by Logie and colleagues (1994) investigated the role working memory components played in addition operations that involved adding a series of two-digit numbers. The dual-task paradigm was used, with addition representing the main task that was combined with one of four secondary tasks: (1) Articulatory suppression (to load the phonological loop component), (2) random generation (to load the central executive component), (3) viewing of irrelevant pictures, and (4) Hand movement (to load visual and spatial working memory components respectively). The results demonstrated that working memory components played a specific role in mental arithmetic. Addition ability was heavily impaired by central executive loading and mildly impaired by phonological loading, but not significantly affected by visual and spatial loading. The specific role working memory components play in mental arithmetic has been replicated in several studies (Clearman et al., 2016; Imbo & LeFevre, 2010; Lee & Kang, 2002; Otsuka & Osaka, 2015).
In a similar vein, Imbo and LeFevre (2010) explored the specific role that each working memory component had on arithmetic problems that were presented in different forms. They presented the arithmetic problems either horizontally or vertically and compared the performance on difficult subtraction and multiplication exercises. Participants, who were Chinese or Canadians, solved the arithmetic task either with no secondary task or while simultaneously recalling and retrieving visual patterns or verbal letters. The results showed that while both the arithmetic performance of both the Chinese and Canadian participants was impaired when they completed the secondary visual and verbal memory tasks, the impairing effect was selective in Chinese participants. They exhibited a higher level of impairment when performing vertical subtraction tasks with visual-spatial load and more impairment in horizontal multiplication tasks with verbal load. The difference in performance between Chinese and Canadians who performed the same tasks is most likely related to the strategies that they had acquired for solving mental arithmetic during their mathematics education.
Indeed, studies have found discrepancies across cultural groups in terms of the effects concurrent working memory tasks have on subtraction and multiplication tasks. Lee and Kang (2002) recruited Korean participants for a study in which they compared the effects of a visual working memory task that required the participants to perform an arithmetic task as the main task alongside a secondary task. The aim of the study was to ascertain whether performing a secondary task impaired the participants’ performance on the arithmetic task. For the visual task, the participants were presented with a visual pattern before the arithmetic problem and then asked to recall the pattern after solving the arithmetic problem. The verbal pattern test involved viewing a fabricate