Verbal Interference Task for Mathematical Reasoning

Overseen By Michelle A.R. Hurst

Age: < 65

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Michelle Hurst, PhD

Disqualifiers: Developmental, cognitive disorders, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 1

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial aims to explore how a secondary task, the Verbal Interference Task, affects the understanding of proportions, such as fractions or percentages. Participants will view images and make judgments about them both with and without a distraction. The trial seeks individuals who are typically developing and either 8 years old or between 18 and 64 years old, without cognitive or developmental disorders. As an unphased trial, this study provides a unique opportunity to contribute to understanding cognitive processes without the constraints of drug testing phases.

Do I need to stop my current medications for this trial?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

What prior data suggests that the Verbal Interference Task is safe for participants?

In a previous study, researchers found that performing a task involving listening to words while solving math problems can affect clear thinking. However, participants reported no harmful effects. This dual-task activity can make concentration more difficult but remains generally safe.

Another study found that children often focus more on whole numbers rather than the relationships between numbers during similar tasks. This indicates that such tasks can alter thinking patterns, but again, no safety concerns were reported.

Overall, the verbal interference task aims to study cognitive processes under distraction, not to cause harm. These studies provide no evidence suggesting it is unsafe for participants, including both children and adults. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about the Verbal Interference Task for Mathematical Reasoning because it explores a new approach to enhancing mathematical problem-solving skills. Unlike traditional methods that often rely on repetitive practice or tutoring, this task involves a behavioral intervention that may improve cognitive flexibility and decision-making under normal and interference conditions. By observing how participants solve proportion judgments with added verbal distractions, researchers hope to uncover insights into how multitasking affects mathematical reasoning, potentially leading to innovative educational strategies.

What evidence suggests that the Verbal Interference Task is effective for understanding mathematical reasoning?

Research shows that tasks involving verbal distractions can affect mathematical thinking. One study found that sounds can impair math skills. Another study discovered that interrupting verbal number use causes difficulty with exact math tasks. These findings suggest that adding a verbal task changes problem-solving approaches. In this trial, all participants will undergo the Verbal Interference Task, which might influence their thinking about proportions when distracted. ^{6 7 8 9 10}

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for typically developing individuals who are either 8 years old or adults aged 18 to 64. It's designed to explore how people understand and reason with mathematical concepts like proportions.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

1-2 weeks

Study Session

Participants make judgements about images with and without the presence of a distractor task

Single session

1 visit (in-person)

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for performance and reaction time after the study session

1 week

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Verbal Interference Task

Trial Overview The study tests how a secondary task, called the Verbal Interference Task, affects participants' ability to make judgments about images representing different proportions. The aim is to see if this distractor changes their reasoning behavior.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Proportion Judgements Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

This is the sole arm of the study. All participants will be observed under normal conditions and then those same participants will undergo a behavioral intervention.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Michelle Hurst, PhD

Lead Sponsor

Trials

2

Recruited

520+

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Collaborator

Trials

2,103

Recruited

2,760,000+

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Collaborator

Trials

471

Recruited

81,700+

Citations

1. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8295418/

The Effects of Competing Verbal Behavior on Performance ... The purposes of this study were to evaluate the effects of an auditory-distractor stimulus and vocal-blocking task on performance on a math task.

2. link.springer.com link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13423-022-02144-7

Verbal interference paradigms: A systematic review ... This paper presents a systematic review of the empirical literature that uses dual-task interference methods for investigating the on-line involvement of ...

3. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010028511000880

Verbal interference suppresses exact numerical ... Here we show that English-speaking participants rely on the same mechanisms when verbal number representations are unavailable due to verbal interference.

4. researchgate.net researchgate.net/publication/358756724_Verbal_interference_paradigms_A_systematic_review_investigating_the_role_of_language_in_cognition

(PDF) Verbal interference paradigms: A systematic review ... This paper presents a systematic review of the empirical literature that uses dual-task interference methods for investigating the on-line ...

5. scholarsarchive.byu.edu scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=11121&context=etd

Bidirectional Interference Between Speech and ... This study examined interference between three non-speech tasks and concurrent speech performance. The non-speech activity consisted of ...

6. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211949322000229

Interference between naïve and scientific theories in ... This study demonstrates that naïve theories in mathematics are still present in mathematicians, even though they are less affected by them in performance than ...

7. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2844786/

How Numeracy Influences Risk Comprehension and Medical ... Low numeracy distorts perceptions of risks and benefits of screening, reduces medication compliance, impedes access to treatments, impairs risk communication.

8. researchgate.net researchgate.net/publication/316683196_Reasoning_and_mathematical_skills_contribute_to_normatively_superior_decision_making_under_risk_evidence_frome_the_Game_of_Dice_Task

evidence frome the Game of Dice Task | Request PDF In this study, we assessed to what extent reasoning improves performance in decision making under risk in a laboratory gambling task (Game of Dice ...

9. par.nsf.gov par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10530322

Children's proportional reasoning ... Children tend to prioritize whole number information over relational information in proportional reasoning tasks, such that they judge a ...

10. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4671075/

How Reasoning, Judgment, and Decision Making are Colored ... We describe how fuzzy-trace theory accounts for judgment-and-decision making phenomena, predicting the paradoxical arc of these processes with the development ...