Spatial Working Memory Counts: Evidence for a Specific Association Between Visuo-spatial Working Memory and Arithmetic in Children

Abstract

We examined the role of visuo-spatial working memory in different types of arithmetic ability in children. Previous research had suggested that arithmetic is not a single entity (Dowker, 2005, 2015), and also that visuo-spatial working memory is specifically involved in mathematical cognition (McKenzie et al., 2003) There has, however, been little research on the relationships between visuo-spatial working memory and different types of arithmetic. We tested 39 children in Year 2 (6 to 7 years) and Year 4 (8 to 9 years), taking measures of written arithmetic, mental oral arithmetic, and derived fact strategy use (the ability to derive unknown arithmetical facts from known facts, by using arithmetical principles). We also measured visuo-spatial working memory, verbal comprehension, and spelling ability. We investigated the relationships between visuo-spatial working memory and our three arithmetic measures, as well as spelling and verbal comprehension, to test whether these effects were specific to mathematical abilities. We found that visuo-spatial working memory was specifically associated with both verbal oral and mental written arithmetic, and but not with spelling or derived fact strategy use.