Strategies for solving simple arithmetic operations : a new paradigm
type: Dataset
description: Numerous studies show that adults solve simple arithmetic problems more or less exclusively by retrieval the response in a network of associations stored in long-term memory (Ashcraft, 1992, 1995 and Campbell, 1995). It is recognized that the arithmetic performance of young children are based on counting or other procedural strategies that are gradually replaced by direct memory retrieval (Barrouillet & Fayol, 1998). These first results were reported by Groen and Parkman (1972) by studying the resolution time. But average latency of trials involving different procedures can lead to erroneous conclusions about how problems are solved. Other authors have preferred the method of verbal reports. But Kirk and Ashcraft (2001) question this paradigm. We propose a new paradigm to shed light on how the addition problems, subtraction and multiplication are resolved by adults and children. This paradigm takes advantage of the fact that algorithmic computation degrades the memory traces of the operands involved in the calculation (Thevenot, Barrouillet, & Fayol, 2001). The time needed by the algorithm to reach the answer and its cognitive cost lead to a reduction in the level of activation of the operands. This decrease in activation would result both from a memory decay phenomenon, which damages memory traces (Towse & Hitch, 1995; Towse, Hitch & Hutton, 1998) and from the necessary concurrent activation of transitory results, which induces a sharing of the attentional resources between the operands, their components and the intermediate results necessary to be reached to solve the problem (Anderson, 1993). Therefore, when the algorithm leads to the response, traces of the operands are degraded and retrieval the operand in memory is more difficult. This phenomenon should be more pronounced for large numbers since arriving at the result requires more steps and more time. Thus, contrasting the relative difficulty that adults or children encounter in recognizing operands after eit…
identifier: NNT: 2010CLF20017
issued: 2026-05-28T21:16:11.756053
language: fr
modified: 2026-05-28T21:16:11.756058
contact point: Organization
  fn: CCSD
keyword: algorithmic-process
keyword: arithmetic
keyword: decomposition
keyword: infoeu-reposemanticsdoctoralthesis
keyword: long-term-memory
keyword: memoire-a-long-terme
keyword: operation-arithmetique
keyword: procedure-algorithmique
keyword: recuperation
keyword: retrieval
keyword: shspsyhumanities-and-social-sciencespsychology
keyword: theses
landing page: https://theses.hal.science/tel-00669686

Strategies for solving simple arithmetic operations : a new paradigm
type: Distribution
format: HTML
issued: 2026-05-28T21:16:11.791932
modified: 2026-05-28T21:16:11.720743
access URL: https://theses.hal.science/tel-00669686

test_moissonnage_selune
type: Agent