The Involvement Of Working Memory In Children’s Exact And Approximate Mental Addition

Mental Arithmetic is a new field in arithmetic research, researching about it is put forward by Croen and Parkman as early as the1970 s,it is not the subject of cognitive psychology until 1972.At present, the research on Mental Arithmetic is mainly focused on two aspects:one is the specific mathematical operations; the other is different types of computing, actuarial、estimation, etc. This research mainly studies the last term in the field of Mental Arithmetic. Existing research shows that: the actuarial and estimation are two distinct cognitive process, they use different cognitive strategies. Actuarial mainly adopts the algorithm of "from left to right", the estimation mainly adopts the "rounded" estimation law. Cognitive processing strategies we can find that: to estimate the relative to the actuarial operand simplified arithmetic tasks, also requires less processing steps. So from that perspective, estimate is easier than the actuarial, it doesn’t need the temporary storing and processing of information and also requires less working memory resources. Kalaman(2007) reseached the same conclusion through studying adults: compared to estimate adult’s actuarial need more adult working memory resources. The research mainly with children as the research object, exploring their differences of actuarial and estimated total working memory resource requirements, whether as adults do, need more working memory resources in the process of actuarialWorking Memory is a cognitive system storing and processing higher cognitive activity information for the moment, many researchers extensively studied the relationship between higher cognitive activity and working memory. Their findings support the view that mental arithmetic is closely related to the cognitive processing and working memory. Their findings support the view that mental arithmetic is closely related to cognitive processing and working memory, the role of the central executive in mental cognitive process have been determined. So the researchers mainly focused on discussing the relationship between the cognitive processing of mental arithmetic and voice circuits, visual space template working memory. So this research mainly focused on disscussing which working memory component finished the information temporary storage in the cognitive process of actuarial and estimation by voice circuits or visual space template.On the basis of forefathers’ research, this study adopts double task experimental paradigm, with children as the research object, using three digits and double digits, double digits and double digit decimal and non-decimal mental arithmetic addition task as experimental material, through two experiments to examine the difference demanded by the total working memory resources and working memory component of actuarial and estimation in children’s mental arithmetic addition. Experiment 1 using 2(mental arithmetic addition task: decimal, the decimal) x 3(task types: mental arithmetic addition, letter recall memories, mental arithmetic addition and letters of dual task) x 2(operational types: actuarial, estimates) within the subjects of design. Exploring the children’s actuarial and estimate for working memory resources demanded differences as well as decimal and the decimal arithmetic addition task for Working Memory resource’s demand differences. Experiment 2 used 2(operating types: actuarial science, estimates) x 3(task types: mental arithmetic addition, mental arithmetic addition and letter recall, mental arithmetic addition and position memory recall) within the subjects of design. Exploring children’s actuarial and estimate for working memory component’s demanded differences means activating different brain areas when subject accomplish the arithmetic and estimate tasks.Summing up the two experiments, we can get the following conclusions:(1) Children’s Estimate needs more Working Memory resources than the Actuarial mental arithmetic addition task;(2) Accomplishing the decimal arithmetic addition task under the condition of actuarial subject need more working memory resources than the decimal.(3)Children’s actuarial information temporary storage is done by working memory components of voice circuits. Estimate information temporary storage is done by working memory component of visual space template.