Development of Mathematical Knowledge in Young Children: Attentional Skill and the Use of Inversion

• Published in: Journal of cognition and development Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 161 - 180
• Main Authors: Watchorn, Rebecca P. D., Bisanz, Jeffrey, Fast, Lisa, LeFevre, Jo-Anne, Skwarchuk, Sheri-Lynn, Smith-Chant, Brenda L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Colchester Taylor & Francis Group 01.01.2014; Psychology Press; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Attention Control; Biological and medical sciences; Canada; Child; Child development; Children & youth; Cognitive Ability; Computation; Computer Assisted Testing; Correlation; Developmental psychology; Elementary School Students; Foreign Countries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hypotheses; Knowledge; Longitudinal Studies; Mathematics; Mathematics Skills; Problem Solving; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Scores; Skill Development; Skills; Statistical Analysis; Validity; Canada; Human; School age; Arithmetics; Attention; Inversion; Cognition; Mathematics; Cognitive development; Child
• ISSN: 1524-8372; 1532-7647
• DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2012.742899

The principle of inversion, that a + b − b must equal a, is a fundamental property of arithmetic, but many children fail to apply it in symbolic contexts through 10 years of age. We explore three hypotheses relating to the use of inversion that stem from a model proposed by Siegler and Araya ( 2005 ). Hypothesis 1 is that greater calculational skill is related to greater use of inversion. Hypothesis 2 is that greater attentional skill is related to greater use of inversion. Hypothesis 3 is that the relation between attentional skill and the use of inversion is particularly strong among children with high skill in calculation. We found suggestive evidence for Hypothesis 2 and clear evidence for Hypothesis 3, indicating that for children who are strong at calculation, attentional flexibility is related to use of inversion.