# Iconicity in Mathematical Notation: Commutativity and Symmetry

• Published in 2020
In the collections
Mathematical notation includes a vast array of signs. Most mathematical signs appear to be symbolic, in the sense that their meaning is arbitrarily related to their visual appearance. We explored the hypothesis that mathematical signs with iconic aspects – those which visually resemble in some way the concepts they represent – offer a cognitive advantage over those which are purely symbolic. An early formulation of this hypothesis was made by Christine Ladd in 1883 who suggested that symmetrical signs should be used to convey commutative relations, because they visually resemble the mathematical concept they represent. Two controlled experiments provide the first empirical test of, and evidence for, Ladd’s hypothesis. In Experiment 1 we find that participants are more likely to attribute commutativity to operations denoted by symmetric signs. In Experiment 2 we further show that using symmetric signs as notation for commutative operations can increase mathematical performance.

## Other information

journal
Journal of Numerical Cognition
issn
2363-8761
volume
6
issue
3
doi
10.5964/jnc.v6i3.314
fulltext_html_url
https://jnc.psychopen.eu/index.php/jnc/article/view/5923/5923.html
pages
378-392

### BibTeX entry

@article{IconicityinMathematicalNotationCommutativityandSymmetry,
title = {Iconicity in Mathematical Notation: Commutativity and Symmetry},
abstract = {Mathematical notation includes a vast array of signs. Most mathematical signs appear to be symbolic, in the sense that their meaning is arbitrarily related to their visual appearance. We explored the hypothesis that mathematical signs with iconic aspects – those which visually resemble in some way the concepts they represent – offer a cognitive advantage over those which are purely symbolic. An early formulation of this hypothesis was made by Christine Ladd in 1883 who suggested that symmetrical signs should be used to convey commutative relations, because they visually resemble the mathematical concept they represent. Two controlled experiments provide the first empirical test of, and evidence for, Ladd’s hypothesis. In Experiment 1 we find that participants are more likely to attribute commutativity to operations denoted by symmetric signs. In Experiment 2 we further show that using symmetric signs as notation for commutative operations can increase mathematical performance. },
}