{"title":"Adults' knowledge of mathematical orthography.","authors":"Seyeon Kim, Heather P Douglas, Jo-Anne LeFevre","doi":"10.1037/cep0000368","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mathematical orthography comprises knowledge of mathematical symbols and the conventions for combining those symbols. For example, in the expression x3 + 3x, the positions of the symbol \"3\" in each term dictate its meanings in the expression. To be successful mathematical problem solvers, people need to know these conventional orthographic patterns. In this study, mathematical orthography skills were assessed in an online format for 189 adults using a timed dichotomous symbol-decision task (e.g., are these expressions conventional? (|<i>x</i>| or ||<i>x</i>)). The symbol-decision task predicted unique variance in whole-number arithmetic, word problem solving, and algebra, controlling for verbal working memory. These results support the role of individual differences in mathematical orthography as a predictor of advanced mathematical skills. In contrast, a written language orthography task only predicted unique variance in word problem solving, where participants read texts. The role of mathematical orthography should be considered in models of mathematical cognition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":51529,"journal":{"name":"Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology-Revue Canadienne De Psychologie Experimentale","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology-Revue Canadienne De Psychologie Experimentale","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1037/cep0000368","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, EXPERIMENTAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Mathematical orthography comprises knowledge of mathematical symbols and the conventions for combining those symbols. For example, in the expression x3 + 3x, the positions of the symbol "3" in each term dictate its meanings in the expression. To be successful mathematical problem solvers, people need to know these conventional orthographic patterns. In this study, mathematical orthography skills were assessed in an online format for 189 adults using a timed dichotomous symbol-decision task (e.g., are these expressions conventional? (|x| or ||x)). The symbol-decision task predicted unique variance in whole-number arithmetic, word problem solving, and algebra, controlling for verbal working memory. These results support the role of individual differences in mathematical orthography as a predictor of advanced mathematical skills. In contrast, a written language orthography task only predicted unique variance in word problem solving, where participants read texts. The role of mathematical orthography should be considered in models of mathematical cognition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
期刊介绍:
The Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology publishes original research papers that advance understanding of the field of experimental psychology, broadly considered. This includes, but is not restricted to, cognition, perception, motor performance, attention, memory, learning, language, decision making, development, comparative psychology, and neuroscience. The journal publishes - papers reporting empirical results that advance knowledge in a particular research area; - papers describing theoretical, methodological, or conceptual advances that are relevant to the interpretation of empirical evidence in the field; - brief reports (less than 2,500 words for the main text) that describe new results or analyses with clear theoretical or methodological import.