Psychological Development and Education ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (6): 840-849.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2025.06.08

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The Whorfian Effect of Numerical Cognition: The Influence of the Place-value Structure of Number Words on Mental Addition

XU Guiping1, FAN Ruolin2, QIU Lijing3, WU Limei1, ZHANG Jinqiao1   

  1. 1. College of Chinese Language and Culture, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510610;
    2. Department of Applied Psychology, Guangdong University of Finance, Guangzhou 510521;
    3. College of Education, Guangdong University of Education, Guangzhou 510303
  • Published:2025-11-05

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Abstract: Cross-language studies have found that the order inconsistency between the expression of the place-value structure of numerals and the expression of arithmetic operands will lead to calculation difficulties. The order inconsistency effect reveals the relationship between language and numerical cognition to a certain extent, but it is not clear how language affects numerical cognition. A series of studies on color categorical perception have shown that secondary task interference and lateralization paradigms are beneficial for revealing the constraint mechanism of language in cognition. Therefore, this study combined these two paradigms with a delayed verification mental addition task involving carry and no-carry problems to explore how the above order inconsistency effect is constrained by language within the same language community through three behavioral experiments. Experiment 1 verified the role of the place-value structure of numerals in addition calculations, which was manifested as a significant order inconsistency effect in addition mental calculation, especially in addition with carrying. Experiments 2 and 3 found that the effect was disrupted by the 1-back interference task of language rather than visual-spatial graph, and there was a right visual field advantage, further revealing the specific role of language in numerical cognition. Based on the lateralized inconsistency effect in addition mental arithmetic, this study not only provides behavioral evidence for the Whorfian effect of numerical cognition but also enriches the understanding of the mechanism of mental arithmetic.

Key words: Whorf hypothesis, number words, place-value structure, mental addition, order inconsistency effect

CLC Number: 

  • G442
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