Task conflict and information conflict : comparison between students with and without developmental dyscalculia

In order to achieve a goal, we attempt to avoid behaviors and thoughts that might deter us from achieving our goals. The classical Stroop task is typically used to study our ability to avoid such behaviors and thoughts. It was suggested that two conflicts are induced in the Stroop task (and other Stroop-like tasks): task conflict (i.e., which task to perform) and information conflict (i.e., which information to use). The current study examined these conflicts in adults with DD) developmental dyscalculia (and a control group of participants with typical development. The study included 44 participants aged 20-30. The participants were recruited from a pool of students who had undergone diagnosis through the MATAL assessment system. We used a numerical Stroop task to examine task conflict and information conflict, as well as pupil diameter measurement. We observed task conflict in both groups, but information conflict only in the control group. Our results indicate intact cognitive control in DD (if task conflict is unrelated to the specific domain) or specific deficits in accessing magnitude information from numbers (if task conflict is related to the specific domain). We also observed severe impairments in math fluency in DD. Theoretical implications are discussed.