Cognitive arithmetic: Comparison of operations

Examined 6 graduate students' performance of simple arithmetic calculations to test predictions of digital (counting), analog, and network models. Pairs of single-digit integers were presented and RTs for adding, multiplying, and comparing the stimuli were collected. A high correlation between RTs for addition and multiplication of the same digits was obtained. This result is consistent with a network model but presents difficulties for both analog and counting models. A "ties" effect of no increase in RT, with increases in problem size for doubles such as 2 + 2, has been found in previous studies of addition using verification procedures, but was not found with the production task employed in the present study. Instead, a different kind of ties effect was found: RT for both addition and multiplication of ties increased more slowly with problem size than did RT for non-tie problems. Findings support a distinction between location and accessibility of information in a network. (21 ref)