Abstract
The representation structure of commutative problems in simple arithmetic (e. g., 3×5 and 5×3) was investigated using a priming paradigm. Participants in Experiment 1 (24 adults between 18 and 31 years of age, mean age 20.7 years) were required to solve production problems; in Experiment 2, 16 adults (19 to 21 years of age, average age 20.3) solved verification problems of simple multiplication, such as 3×5=?, with preceding primes, such as 3×?=?. The results were as follows: when both the left position and processing order of the operand a were matched, the a×b pattern with an a×? prime was solved faster than either?× a prime, in which only the order of the operand a was matched, and?×b prime, in which only the position of the operand b was matched. a×b with a b×? prime, that is, the case in which neither the order nor the position was matched, was solved slowest. Overall, the effect of order was greater than that of position. The present results suggest that each commutative problem is discrete in arithmetic representation, and that discrimination is based on both order and position. It also appears that order is more important than position.
