The role of language in numerical cognition
- How do people process numbers in inverted number languages (e.g., Dutch: vierenvijftig)?
- And are there any differences with number processing in non-inverted number languages (e.g., English: fifty-four)?
- What is the role of working memory in children’s number transcoding?
- And does this role differ between Dutch- and French-speaking children?
Cultural differences in arithmetic performance
- Why are Chinese people faster in solving arithmetic problems than are European and North-American people?
- Do Asian, European, and North-American people choose other strategies to solve arithmetic problems?
- Do Asian, European, and North-American people use other working-memory components to solve arithmetic problems?
- Is it true that Asian-educated people choose their strategies less adaptively than do non-Asian-educated people?
The role of working memory in mental arithmetic
- What is the role of working memory in complex forms of mental arithmetic,e.g., in carry and borrow operations?
- What is the role of working memory in simple-arithmetic strategy efficiency (e.g., 5 + 7, 3 x 8)?
- What is the role of working memory in complex-arithemtic strategy efficiency (e.g., 53 + 78, 3 x 18)?
- Do working-memory components play a role in strategy selection and strategy efficiency?
- Do we need more working-memory resources for exact calculation than for approximate calculation?
The selection and the efficiency of arithmetical strategies
- What are the effects of training and practice on arithmetic strategy selection and strategy efficiency?
- How do strategy selection and strategy efficiency develop across elementary school?
- What is the role of working memory in strategy efficiency, strategy selection, and strategy adaptivity?
- Do individual differences (e.g., math anxiety, gender) have an influence on selection and/or efficiency processes?
The role of structure in the development of visuo-spatial working memory
- Does structural information influence the development of visuo-spatial working-memory performance?
- Can the effect of structure be attributed to other path characteristics such as the path length or the number of path crossings?
Synesthesia
- Is synesthesia uni- or bi-directional?
- What are the effects of grapheme-color synesthesia on simple-arithmetic performance?
Post-error slowing
- Why do we slow down after an error? Why is there no gain in accuracy?
- Is post-error slowing also present in mental arithmetic?
The development of the SNARC effect
- How does the SNARC effect develop in elementary school children?
- Does left-right knowledge affect this developmental process?
The role of working memory in a variety of cognitive tasks
- What is the role of working memory in object recognition? (project Yun Zheng)
- Which working-memory components do we need to drive a car? (project Kamilla Johannsdottir)