The predictive role of eye movements in mental arithmetic

Andres, Michael
(2022) Mathematical Cognition and Learning Society — Location: Antwerp (1.June.2022)

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Abstract
Eye movements provide an interesting window into the mathematical mind. We have developed a method that allowed us to detect subtle gaze deviations during mental calculation. An eye-tracker with high spatio-temporal resolution was used to measure eye movements during the auditory presentation of addition (43+4) and subtraction problems (53-6). Eye movements were observed as soon as the operator was heard and their direction was predictive of the expected side of the answer on a mental continuum where numbers are represented from left to right relative to the first operand. When the arithmetic operation could be guessed from the magnitude of the first operand, the eyes started to move even before the operator was heard, confirming their predictive role. For instance, numbers on the leftmost end of the continuum elicited rightward movements as soon as they were heard because these were more often selected in addition than in subtraction problems. Further analyses linked the fast deployment of spatial attention to the carrying and borrowing procedures triggered by the problem presentation, suggesting a role in alleviating the working memory load. These new findings show that the cognitive system optimally integrates the terms of the problem to direct spatial attention toward the probable location of the answer on the mental numerical continuum. It is clear from the predictive nature of these attention shifts, which typically occur before the presentation of the second operand, that their primary role is not to identify the exact answer but to reduce uncertainty about its probable location.
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Andres, M. (2022). The predictive role of eye movements in mental arithmetic. Mathematical Cognition and Learning Society, Antwerp. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/102536