Joachim Thomas, Christof Zoelch, Katja Seitz-Stein, Ruth Schumann-Hengsteler:
Phonologische und zentral-exekutive Arbeitsgedächtnisprozesse bei der mentalen Addition und Multiplikation bei Grundschulkindern
Phonological and Central Executive Working Memory Processes in Children’s Mental Addition and Multiplication

2006, 275-290

Summary: The present study is investigating the effect of increasing automatization of mental addition and multiplication on the involvement of phonological and central executive working memory processes (Baddeley & Hitch, 2000). For this purpose two experiments were carried out: third and fourth graders were asked to solve mental addition and multiplication problems of different difficulty. Number of correct answers and solution times served as dependent variables. In addition to the visually presented arithmetic problems subjects were required to simultaneously execute different secondary tasks. Experiment 1 focuses on the role of phonological rehearsal and passive storage, components of the phonological loop in mental calculation processes. Therefore a simple and a canonical articulatory suppression task and an irrelevant speech condition were contrasted to a neutral control condition. Results indicate the relevance of an articulatory control process for mental arithmetic in primary school children. In experiment 2 a central executive interference task, the random generation task, was applied in addition to a neutral control condition. Both arithmetic operations involve central executive processes. Furthermore the two experiments found a decrement of phonological and central executive interference with an increasing automation of mental addition and multiplication. The varying amount of phonological and central executive involvement in addition and multiplication is discussed specifically.

Keywords: Working memory, mental arithmetic, arithmetic in elementary school, development, dual task

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