ReviewFrontiers in psychology2015
Word problems: a review of linguistic and numerical factors contributing to their difficulty.
Review in Frontiers in psychology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Mathematics Anxiety-Complexity Effect in Word Problems.Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006) · 2026Article
- Reading comprehension self-efficacy and mathematical problem-solving in primary education: a serial mediation model through mathematical reasoning and critical thinking.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Arithmetic and reading skills mediate the link between math and reading anxiety and word problem solving.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Can't help processing numbers with text: Eye-tracking evidence for simultaneous instead of sequential processing of text and numbers in arithmetic word problems.Psychological research · 2025Article
- Uncovering the interplay between drawings, mental representations, and arithmetic problem-solving strategies in children and adults.Memory & cognition · 2025Article
- Put you in the problem: Effects of self-pronouns on mathematical problem-solving.Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006) · 2024Article
- Understanding the complexities of mathematical cognition: A multi-level framework.Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006) · 2023Article
- Students' learning growth in mental addition and subtraction: Results from a learning progress monitoring approach.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Closing the Word-Problem Achievement Gap in First Grade: Schema-Based Word-Problem Intervention with Embedded Language Comprehension Instruction.Journal of educational psychology · 2021Article
- Operation-Specific Lexical Consistency Effect in Fronto-Insular-Parietal Network During Word Problem Solving.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2021Article
- The interaction of linguistic and arithmetic factors affects adult performance on arithmetic word problems.Cognitive processing · 2020Article
- Improving Language Comprehension to Enhance Word-Problem Solving.Reading & writing quarterly : overcoming learning difficulties · 2020Article
- Language-Related Longitudinal Predictors of Arithmetic Word Problem Solving: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.Contemporary educational psychology · 2020Article
- Fronto-insular-parietal network engagement underlying arithmetic word problem solving.Human brain mapping · 2019Article
- Cognitive and Affective Correlates of Chinese Children's Mathematical Word Problem Solving.Frontiers in psychology · 2018Article
- A Taxonomy Proposal for Types of Interactions of Language and Place-Value Processing in Multi-Digit Numbers.Frontiers in psychology · 2018Article
- Relative Contributions ofIntelligenceArticle
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4 authors.
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Abstract
Word problems (WPs) belong to the most difficult and complex problem types that pupils encounter during their elementary-level mathematical development. In the classroom setting, they are often viewed as merely arithmetic tasks; however, recent research shows that a number of linguistic verbal components not directly related to arithmetic contribute greatly to their difficulty. In this review, we will distinguish three components of WP difficulty: (i) the linguistic complexity of the problem text itself, (ii) the numerical complexity of the arithmetic problem, and (iii) the relation between the linguistic and numerical complexity of a problem. We will discuss the impact of each of these factors on WP difficulty and motivate the need for a high degree of control in stimuli design for experiments that manipulate WP difficulty for a given age group.
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