Math Predictors of Numeric Health and Non-Health Decision-Making Problems
People frequently encounter numeric information in medical and health contexts. In this paper, we investigated the math factors that are associated with decision-making accuracy in health and non-health contexts. This is an important endeavor given that there is relatively little cross-talk between...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Insitute for Psychology
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Journal of Numerical Cognition |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://jnc.psychopen.eu/index.php/jnc/article/view/6545 |
| _version_ | 1797965187154706432 |
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| author | Clarissa A. Thompson Jennifer M. Taber Charles J. Fitzsimmons Pooja G. Sidney |
| author_facet | Clarissa A. Thompson Jennifer M. Taber Charles J. Fitzsimmons Pooja G. Sidney |
| author_sort | Clarissa A. Thompson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | People frequently encounter numeric information in medical and health contexts. In this paper, we investigated the math factors that are associated with decision-making accuracy in health and non-health contexts. This is an important endeavor given that there is relatively little cross-talk between math cognition researchers and those studying health decision making. Ninety adults (M = 37 years; 86% White; 51% male) answered hypothetical health decision-making problems, and 93 adults (M = 36 years; 75% White; 42% males) answered a non-health decision-making problem. All participants were recruited from an online panel. Each participant completed a battery of tasks involving objective math skills (e.g., whole number and fraction estimation, comparison, arithmetic fluency, objective numeracy, etc.) and subjective ratings of their math attitudes, anxiety, and subjective numeracy. In separate regression models, we identified which objective and subjective math measures were associated with health and non-health decision-making accuracy. Magnitude comparison accuracy, multi-step arithmetic accuracy, and math anxiety accounted for significant variance in health decision-making accuracy, whereas attention to math, as illustrated in open-ended strategy reports, was the only significant predictor of non-health decision-making accuracy. Importantly, reliable and valid measures from the math cognition literature were more strongly related to health decision-making accuracy than were commonly used subjective and objective measures of numeracy. These results have a practical implication: Understanding the math factors that are associated with health decision-making performance could inform future interventions to enhance comprehension of numeric health information. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T01:56:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2c78e3bcb56b4b23abe4a0b6cfc725ee |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2363-8761 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T01:56:04Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Insitute for Psychology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Numerical Cognition |
| spelling | doaj.art-2c78e3bcb56b4b23abe4a0b6cfc725ee2023-01-03T05:12:29ZengPsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Insitute for PsychologyJournal of Numerical Cognition2363-87612021-07-017222123910.5964/jnc.6545jnc.6545Math Predictors of Numeric Health and Non-Health Decision-Making ProblemsClarissa A. Thompson0Jennifer M. Taber1Charles J. Fitzsimmons2Pooja G. Sidney3Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USADepartment of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USADepartment of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USADepartment of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USAPeople frequently encounter numeric information in medical and health contexts. In this paper, we investigated the math factors that are associated with decision-making accuracy in health and non-health contexts. This is an important endeavor given that there is relatively little cross-talk between math cognition researchers and those studying health decision making. Ninety adults (M = 37 years; 86% White; 51% male) answered hypothetical health decision-making problems, and 93 adults (M = 36 years; 75% White; 42% males) answered a non-health decision-making problem. All participants were recruited from an online panel. Each participant completed a battery of tasks involving objective math skills (e.g., whole number and fraction estimation, comparison, arithmetic fluency, objective numeracy, etc.) and subjective ratings of their math attitudes, anxiety, and subjective numeracy. In separate regression models, we identified which objective and subjective math measures were associated with health and non-health decision-making accuracy. Magnitude comparison accuracy, multi-step arithmetic accuracy, and math anxiety accounted for significant variance in health decision-making accuracy, whereas attention to math, as illustrated in open-ended strategy reports, was the only significant predictor of non-health decision-making accuracy. Importantly, reliable and valid measures from the math cognition literature were more strongly related to health decision-making accuracy than were commonly used subjective and objective measures of numeracy. These results have a practical implication: Understanding the math factors that are associated with health decision-making performance could inform future interventions to enhance comprehension of numeric health information.https://jnc.psychopen.eu/index.php/jnc/article/view/6545strategy reportsrational number understandinghealth decision makingrisknumeracy |
| spellingShingle | Clarissa A. Thompson Jennifer M. Taber Charles J. Fitzsimmons Pooja G. Sidney Math Predictors of Numeric Health and Non-Health Decision-Making Problems Journal of Numerical Cognition strategy reports rational number understanding health decision making risk numeracy |
| title | Math Predictors of Numeric Health and Non-Health Decision-Making Problems |
| title_full | Math Predictors of Numeric Health and Non-Health Decision-Making Problems |
| title_fullStr | Math Predictors of Numeric Health and Non-Health Decision-Making Problems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Math Predictors of Numeric Health and Non-Health Decision-Making Problems |
| title_short | Math Predictors of Numeric Health and Non-Health Decision-Making Problems |
| title_sort | math predictors of numeric health and non health decision making problems |
| topic | strategy reports rational number understanding health decision making risk numeracy |
| url | https://jnc.psychopen.eu/index.php/jnc/article/view/6545 |
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