The Effects of Different Auditory Stimuli on the Completion of Math Problems

Mentor 1

Dr. Tiffany Kodak

Location

Union Wisconsin Room

Start Date

29-4-2016 1:30 PM

End Date

29-4-2016 3:30 PM

Description

“When someone solves a problem in ‘mental arithmetic,’ the initial statement of the problem and the final overt answer can often be related only by inferring covert events… such covert behavior as counting money or adding figures is likely to become overt in the presence of distracting stimuli” (Skinner, 1957, p 434, 436). B.F. Skinner is famous for theory and research in the area of verbal behavior. In the current study, we investigated how the presentation of auditory stimuli influences the accuracy and latency with which undergraduate students solve mental math problems. The procedure involved presenting undergraduate participants with addition problems vocally and visually. Each participant was exposed to three conditions that involved the presence or absence of auditory stimuli during the problem-solving interval. These three conditions included an experimental condition with an auditory stimulus presenting a list of numbers, an experimental condition with an auditory stimulus that involved reading narrative and declarative passages, and a control condition, which did not involve the presentation of any additional auditory stimuli. Participants’ latency to respond was equally increased in the presence of both auditory stimuli. When numeric auditory stimuli were played, the increase in response latency positively correlated with an increase in accuracy. When non-numeric auditory stimuli were played, the increase in latency negatively correlated with accuracy. Participants engaged in the most overt verbal behavior (e.g., counting aloud) in the presence of the reading passages. Future research could investigate how other unique auditory stimuli, such as music and background conversation, impact accuracy, latency, and overt verbal behavior when solving mental math.

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Apr 29th, 1:30 PM Apr 29th, 3:30 PM

The Effects of Different Auditory Stimuli on the Completion of Math Problems

Union Wisconsin Room

“When someone solves a problem in ‘mental arithmetic,’ the initial statement of the problem and the final overt answer can often be related only by inferring covert events… such covert behavior as counting money or adding figures is likely to become overt in the presence of distracting stimuli” (Skinner, 1957, p 434, 436). B.F. Skinner is famous for theory and research in the area of verbal behavior. In the current study, we investigated how the presentation of auditory stimuli influences the accuracy and latency with which undergraduate students solve mental math problems. The procedure involved presenting undergraduate participants with addition problems vocally and visually. Each participant was exposed to three conditions that involved the presence or absence of auditory stimuli during the problem-solving interval. These three conditions included an experimental condition with an auditory stimulus presenting a list of numbers, an experimental condition with an auditory stimulus that involved reading narrative and declarative passages, and a control condition, which did not involve the presentation of any additional auditory stimuli. Participants’ latency to respond was equally increased in the presence of both auditory stimuli. When numeric auditory stimuli were played, the increase in response latency positively correlated with an increase in accuracy. When non-numeric auditory stimuli were played, the increase in latency negatively correlated with accuracy. Participants engaged in the most overt verbal behavior (e.g., counting aloud) in the presence of the reading passages. Future research could investigate how other unique auditory stimuli, such as music and background conversation, impact accuracy, latency, and overt verbal behavior when solving mental math.