Eye movements as an indicator of the strategies recruited to solve arithmetic problems: the case of subtraction by additions
(2023) Mathematical Cognition and Learning Society — Location: Loughborough, England (5.June.2023)
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- Attention is shifted rightward/upward or leftward/downward when participants solve additions and subtractions, respectively. While attentional shifts in both the vertical and horizontal axes co-exist, it is unknown whether the two axes are rooted into identical cognitive mechanisms and mental representations. To investigate the role of horizontal and vertical attentional shifts in mental arithmetic, we monitored horizontal and vertical eye movements, as a proxy for attentional shifts, using an eye-tracker while adult participants were solving orally subtractions presented that are either solved directly (e.g., 78 – 32 = ?) or solved by indirect additions (e.g., 71-68 = ? 68 + ? = 71) while looking at a blank screen. Results reveal a dissociation between horizontal and vertical shifts. Horizontal shifts reflected the strategy that was employed to solve the problem as subtraction by addition elicited horizontal shifts more to the right than direct subtractions. Vertical eye movements were driven by the absolute magnitude of the answers as large answers were associated to upward shifts. Altogether, this suggests attentional shifts are part of the solving procedure but that shifts along horizontal and vertical axes reflect distinct cognitive mechanisms. The horizontal axis is flexibly used by participants that remap numbers according to the strategy that is recruited while the vertical axis is merely associated to the magnitude of the answer, irrespective of how it is accessed.
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Masson, N., Schiltz, C., & Pesenti, M. (2023). Eye movements as an indicator of the strategies recruited to solve arithmetic problems: the case of subtraction by additions. Mathematical Cognition and Learning Society, Loughborough, England. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/236955