A study on whether nonverbal inductive reasoning predicts mathematical performance

Abstract

Mathematical performance plays a vital role in students' academic development. Studies have shown that some basic cognitive processes, including inductive reasoning, are critical for the development of mathematical performance. However, little empirical evidence has been accumulated regarding the association between inductive reasoning and mathematical performance. This study investigated whether inductive reasoning has a unique predictive effect on situational, verbalized, and symbolic mathematical performance. A total of 203 eighth-graders were recruited for a series of tasks. Results showed that when only gender and age were controlled for, inductive reasoning ability could significantly predict all types of mathematical performance. However, after controlling for general cognitive abilities, including language, spatial visualization, and working memory, inductive reasoning ability did not significantly predict any mathematical performance. By contrast, language and spatial ability showed independent predictions for mathematical performance. Results suggest that language and spatial abilities, other than inductive reasoning, could support mathematical processing.