ERIC Number: EJ876199
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Apr
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0965
EISSN: N/A
Executive Functions Underlying Multiplicative Reasoning: Problem Type Matters
Agostino, Alba; Johnson, Janice; Pascual-Leone, Juan
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, v105 n4 p286-305 Apr 2010
We investigated the extent to which inhibition, updating, shifting, and mental-attentional capacity ("M"-capacity) contribute to children's ability to solve multiplication word problems. A total of 155 children in Grades 3-6 (8- to 13-year-olds) completed a set of multiplication word problems at two levels of difficulty: one-step and multiple-step problems. They also received a reading comprehension test and a battery of inhibition, updating, shifting, and "M"-capacity measures. Structural equation modeling showed that updating mediated the relationship between multiplication performance (controlling for reading comprehension score) and latent attentional factors "M"-capacity and inhibition. Updating played a more important role in predicting performance on multiple-step problems than did age, whereas age and updating were equally important predictors on one-step problems. Shifting was not a significant predictor in either model. Implications of proposing executive function updating as a mediator between mathematical cognition and chronological age and attention resources are discussed. (Contains 4 tables and 4 figures.)
Descriptors: Reading Comprehension, Reading Tests, Age, Structural Equation Models, Inhibition, Word Problems (Mathematics), Elementary School Students, Learning Disabilities, Cognitive Processes, Problem Solving, Measures (Individuals), Prediction, Models
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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