Which model is associated with the cognitive neuropsychology of arithmetical processing?

• A. McCloskey et al. (1985)
• B. Bruce & Young (1986)
• C. Searle's model
• D. Baddeley's model

Answer: (A)

Arithmetical processing is understood in cognitive neuropsychology as composed of separate cognitive components, such as retrieving arithmetic facts from memory and applying procedural calculation steps. McCloskey and colleagues in the mid-1980s formalized this idea, proposing a model that divides arithmetic into distinct parts: stored arithmetic facts (like multiplication tables) and procedural strategies for solving problems. This separation fits the neuropsychological approach because it accounts for selective impairments seen after brain injury—patients can lose the ability to retrieve facts but still perform procedures, or vice versa—without one deficit necessarily implying the other. The evidence of such dissociations supports a modular view of arithmetic knowledge, and McCloskey et al.’s model became a foundational reference for how the cognitive structure of arithmetic is organized. In contrast, the other options target different domains or broader memory systems: Bruce & Young focus on face processing, Searle is associated with philosophical arguments about mind and language, and Baddeley’s model explains working memory rather than the specific cognitive architecture of arithmetic.