Patients with frontal brain lesions show a striking disorder in arithmetical word problem solving; they tend to give impulsive responses, skipping one or more of the essential solution steps. The research presented here along with its implications for treatment was conducted by the Dutch Institute f

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction 1
1.1. Neuropsychology and Arithmetical Word Problem Solving 1
1.2. Overview of this Study 2
1.3. The Value of Arithmetic Word Problems 4
2. Frontal Lobe Damage 5
2.1. Disturbance of Cortical Functions after Frontal Lobe Damage 5
2.1.1. Motor Deficits 6
2.1.2. Personality Changes 8
2.1.3. Cognitive Impairments 9
2.1.3.1. Sensory, Perception and Construction Functions 9
2.1.3.2. Attention 10
2.1.3.3. Speech and Language 11
2.1.3.4. Awareness 12
2.1.3.5. Memory 13
2.2. Specific Functions of the Frontal Lobe in Cognitive Functioning 14
2.2.1. Explanations of lmpaired Cognition after Frontal Lobe Damage 14
2.3. Frontal Lobe Damage and Arithmetical Word Problem Solving 19
2.3.1. Arithmetical Word Problem Solving and Acalculia 19
2.3.2. Defective Arithmetical Word Problem Solving after
Frontal Lobe Damage 19
3. Cognitive Psychology and Arithmetical
Word Problem Solving 25
3.1. Different Approaches to Problem Solving:
Historical Perspecti ve 25
3.2. Mathematical Ability and Impairments in
Mathematical Problem Solving 28
3.2.1. The Psychometrie Approach 28
3.2.2. The Theory of Activity 29
3.2.2.1. General Outline 29
3.2.2.2. Luria's Interpretation of Defective Arithmetical v\brd
Problem Solving after Frontal Lobe Damage 30
3.2.2.3. Evaluation 35
3.2.3. TheCognitiveApproach 36
3.2.3.1. The Concept of Problem Space 37
3.2.3.2. General Problem Solving Methods 39
3.2.3.3. The Concept of Domain-specific Knowledge 41
3.3. A Stage Analysis of Mathematical Word Problem Solving 43
3.3.1. Encoding and Interna! Representation 43
3.3.1.1. Sentence Translation 44
3.3.1.2. Integration of Problem-information 46
3.3.2. The Search in the Problem Space 47
3.3.3. Evaluation 48
3.4. Methodological Issues 49
3.4.1. Aims of the Investigation 49
3.4.2. Method of Investigation 50
4. The Interna! Representation of Arithmetical Word Problem
Sentences: Frontal and Posterior-Injured Patients Compared 53
4.1. Introduction 53
4.2. Subjects 56
4.3. Procedure 58
4.4. Results 63
4.5. Discussion 67
5. The Categorization of Arithmetic Word Problems
by Normals, Frontal and Posterior-lnjured Patients 71
5.1. Introduction 71
5.2. Subjects 73
5.3. Procedure 74
5.4. Scoring and data analysis 76
5.5. Results 76
5.6. Discussion 81
6. Influence of Improved Text Encoding on Arithmetical
Word Problem Solving after Frontal Lobe Damage 85
6.1. Introduction 85
6.2. Subjects 88
6.3. Procedure 89
6.4. Results 93
6.5. Discussion 98
7. General Discussion and Concluding Remarks 101
7.1. General Discussion 101
7.2. Implications 104
7.3. Everyday Arithmetical Word Problem Solving 107
References 109
Summary 121
Samenvatting 125