Math problems create false memories in the brain
Published: Friday, Aug 30th 2024, 12:30
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When solving mathematical problems, the brain can generate false memories. According to a new study by the University of Geneva, people sometimes believe that they have read certain information that was not included in the task.
This knowledge could help to improve mathematics lessons, as the University of Geneva announced on Friday. This is because it allows pupils' thought processes to be better understood.
For the study, the researchers asked 67 adults to solve math problems. They then asked the test subjects how the task was formulated. For certain math problems, more than half of the study participants added information that they had deduced when solving these problems.
Recognize difficulties of the students
As an example, the University of Geneva cited the following task in its press release: "Sophie's journey takes eight hours. When she arrives, the clock shows 11 o'clock. Fred leaves at the same time as Sophie. Fred's journey is two hours shorter than Sophie's. What time does the clock show when Fred arrives?" Many of the study participants incorrectly stated that they had read that Fred arrived two hours before Sophie.
They therefore unconsciously linked sentences that actually appeared in the task with conclusions that they drew from them while reading.
According to the researchers, teachers could make use of these false memories. By analyzing these memory errors, they could recognize the students' thinking strategies and thus better understand their difficulties in solving the problems. The study was published in the "Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition".
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