Dividing attention increases operational momentum
Author(s) / Creator(s)
McCrink, Koleen
Hubbard, Timothy
Abstract / Description
When adding or subtracting two quantities, adults often compute an estimated outcome that is larger or smaller, respectively, than the actual outcome, a bias referred to as “operational momentum”. The effects of attention on operational momentum were investigated. Participants viewed a display in which two arrays of objects were added, or one array was subtracted from another array, and judged whether a subsequent outcome (probe) array contained the correct or incorrect number of objects. In a baseline condition, only the arrays to be added or subtracted were viewed. In divided attention conditions, participants simultaneously viewed a sequence of colors or shapes, and judged which color (a non-spatial judgment) or shape (a spatial judgment) was repeated. Operational momentum occurred in all conditions, but was higher in divided attention conditions than in the baseline condition, primarily for addition problems. This pattern suggests that dividing attention, rather than decreasing operational momentum by decreasing attentional shifts, actually increased operational momentum. These results are consistent with a heightened use of arithmetic heuristics under conditions of divided attention.
Keyword(s)
operational momentum spatial attention number space heuristicsPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2017-12-22
Journal title
Journal of Numerical Cognition
Volume
3
Issue
2
Page numbers
230–245
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
McCrink, K., & Hubbard, T. (2017). Dividing attention increases operational momentum. Journal of Numerical Cognition, 3(2), 230–245. https://doi.org/10.5964/jnc.v3i2.34
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Author(s) / Creator(s)McCrink, Koleen
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Hubbard, Timothy
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2018-11-21T11:42:44Z
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Made available on2018-11-21T11:42:44Z
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Date of first publication2017-12-22
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Abstract / DescriptionWhen adding or subtracting two quantities, adults often compute an estimated outcome that is larger or smaller, respectively, than the actual outcome, a bias referred to as “operational momentum”. The effects of attention on operational momentum were investigated. Participants viewed a display in which two arrays of objects were added, or one array was subtracted from another array, and judged whether a subsequent outcome (probe) array contained the correct or incorrect number of objects. In a baseline condition, only the arrays to be added or subtracted were viewed. In divided attention conditions, participants simultaneously viewed a sequence of colors or shapes, and judged which color (a non-spatial judgment) or shape (a spatial judgment) was repeated. Operational momentum occurred in all conditions, but was higher in divided attention conditions than in the baseline condition, primarily for addition problems. This pattern suggests that dividing attention, rather than decreasing operational momentum by decreasing attentional shifts, actually increased operational momentum. These results are consistent with a heightened use of arithmetic heuristics under conditions of divided attention.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationMcCrink, K., & Hubbard, T. (2017). Dividing attention increases operational momentum. Journal of Numerical Cognition, 3(2), 230–245. https://doi.org/10.5964/jnc.v3i2.34en_US
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ISSN2363-8761
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1254
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1446
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/jnc.v3i2.34
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Keyword(s)operational momentumen_US
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Keyword(s)spatial attentionen_US
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Keyword(s)numberen_US
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Keyword(s)spaceen_US
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Keyword(s)heuristicsen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleDividing attention increases operational momentumen_US
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DRO typearticle
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Issue2
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Journal titleJournal of Numerical Cognition
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Page numbers230–245
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Volume3
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Visible tag(s)Version of Record