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Enrolling by Invitation

NCT Number: NCT06635577

Modifying Cognitive Strategies for Comparing Proportions

The goal of this study is to understand the cognitive processes underlying quantitative and relational reasoning, including the understanding of mathematical information (e.g., numbers, proportions, percentages, geometry) and related relational concepts (e.g., analogies, the concepts same/different), as well as how people's reasoning can be changed by external factors. The main question it aims to answer is:

How does the introduction of a secondary task affect the behavior of children and adults when reasoning about proportions in different formats? Participants will be asked to make judgements about images with and without the presence of a distractor task.

Enrolling by Invitation

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Key information

Conditions

Proportional Reasoning

Age range

7 year–64 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science

Piscataway, New Jersey, 08854, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Typically developing people within the target age range (either 8-years-old OR 18- to 64-years-old) for the study version

Exclusion criteria

  • Individuals with known developmental or cognitive disorders
  • Participants or parents of participants must speak/read sufficient English to read and complete the informed consent document

Treatment and study plan

Verbal Interference Task

Behavioral

During the second half of the study, participants will undergo an interference task such as repetition of the word "the"; or shadowing a radio broadcast in order to increase cognitive load and disrupt the use of a mental workspace.

Primary outcomes

  1. Overall Performance

    Time frame: After enrollment in a single study session

    A proportion correct will be calculated, with a score closer to 1 indicating more questions answered correctly. Reaction time will also be tracked, with a faster reaction time indicating ease and/or efficiency with the task.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Michelle Hurst, PhD

Other

Collaborators

  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
  • Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Registry information

Official study title

Changing Quantitative Reasoning Across Development

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Oct 10, 2024
Registry last updated
Feb 20, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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