Finger Tracking Reveals the Covert Stages of Mental Arithmetic
We introduce a novel method capable of dissecting the succession of processing stages underlying mental arithmetic, thus revealing how two numbers are transformed into a third. We asked adults to point to the result of single-digit additions and subtractions on...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
The MIT Press
2017-02-01
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| Series: | Open Mind |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/OPMI_a_00003 |
| _version_ | 1818989056357302272 |
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| author | Pedro Pinheiro-Chagas Dror Dotan Manuela Piazza Stanislas Dehaene |
| author_facet | Pedro Pinheiro-Chagas Dror Dotan Manuela Piazza Stanislas Dehaene |
| author_sort | Pedro Pinheiro-Chagas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We introduce a novel method capable of dissecting the succession of processing stages underlying mental arithmetic, thus revealing
how two numbers are transformed into a third. We asked adults to point to the result of single-digit additions and subtractions on
a number line, while their finger trajectory was constantly monitored. We found that the two operands are processed serially: the
finger first points toward the larger operand, then slowly veers toward the correct result. This slow deviation unfolds
proportionally to the size of the smaller operand, in both additions and subtractions. We also observed a transient operator
effect: a plus sign attracted the finger to the right and a minus sign to the left and a transient activation of the absolute
value of the subtrahend. These findings support a model whereby addition and subtraction are computed by a stepwise displacement
on the mental number line, starting with the larger number and incrementally adding or subtracting the smaller number. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T19:32:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d5f76477b29346e68ab146e4a4a838b4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2470-2986 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T19:32:24Z |
| publishDate | 2017-02-01 |
| publisher | The MIT Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Mind |
| spelling | doaj.art-d5f76477b29346e68ab146e4a4a838b42022-12-21T19:28:46ZengThe MIT PressOpen Mind2470-29862017-02-0111304110.1162/OPMI_a_00003OPMI_a_00003Finger Tracking Reveals the Covert Stages of Mental ArithmeticPedro Pinheiro-Chagas0Dror Dotan1Manuela Piazza2Stanislas Dehaene3Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DRF/I2BM, INSERM, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin center, FranceCognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DRF/I2BM, INSERM, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin center, France5Center for Mind/Brain Sciences University of TrentoCognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DRF/I2BM, INSERM, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin center, FranceWe introduce a novel method capable of dissecting the succession of processing stages underlying mental arithmetic, thus revealing how two numbers are transformed into a third. We asked adults to point to the result of single-digit additions and subtractions on a number line, while their finger trajectory was constantly monitored. We found that the two operands are processed serially: the finger first points toward the larger operand, then slowly veers toward the correct result. This slow deviation unfolds proportionally to the size of the smaller operand, in both additions and subtractions. We also observed a transient operator effect: a plus sign attracted the finger to the right and a minus sign to the left and a transient activation of the absolute value of the subtrahend. These findings support a model whereby addition and subtraction are computed by a stepwise displacement on the mental number line, starting with the larger number and incrementally adding or subtracting the smaller number.https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/OPMI_a_00003arithmeticfinger trackingserial processingproblem-size effectoperational momentum effect |
| spellingShingle | Pedro Pinheiro-Chagas Dror Dotan Manuela Piazza Stanislas Dehaene Finger Tracking Reveals the Covert Stages of Mental Arithmetic Open Mind arithmetic finger tracking serial processing problem-size effect operational momentum effect |
| title | Finger Tracking Reveals the Covert Stages of Mental Arithmetic |
| title_full | Finger Tracking Reveals the Covert Stages of Mental Arithmetic |
| title_fullStr | Finger Tracking Reveals the Covert Stages of Mental Arithmetic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Finger Tracking Reveals the Covert Stages of Mental Arithmetic |
| title_short | Finger Tracking Reveals the Covert Stages of Mental Arithmetic |
| title_sort | finger tracking reveals the covert stages of mental arithmetic |
| topic | arithmetic finger tracking serial processing problem-size effect operational momentum effect |
| url | https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/OPMI_a_00003 |
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