Inducing mental set constrains procedural flexibility and conceptual understanding in mathematics.

An important goal in mathematics is to flexibly use and apply multiple, efficient procedures to solve problems and to understand why these procedures work. One factor that may limit individuals' ability to notice and flexibly apply strategies is the mental set induced by the problem context. Undergraduate (N = 41, Experiment 1) and fifth- and sixth-grade students (N = 87, Experiment 2) solved mathematical equivalence problems in one of two set-inducing conditions. Participants in the complex-first condition solved problems without a repeated addend on both sides of the equal sign (e.g., 7 + 5 + 9 = 3 + _), which required multistep strategies. Then these students solved problems with a repeated addend (e.g., 7 + 5 + 9 = 7 + _), for which a shortcut strategy could be readily used (i.e., adding 5 + 9). Participants in the shortcut-first condition solved the same problem set but began with the shortcut problems. Consistent with laboratory studies of mental set, participants in the complex-first condition were less likely to use the more efficient shortcut strategy when possible. In addition, these participants were less likely to demonstrate procedural flexibility and conceptual understanding on a subsequent assessment of mathematical equivalence knowledge. These findings suggest that certain problem-solving contexts can help or hinder both flexibility in strategy use and deeper conceptual thinking about the problems.

Mindfulness, anxiety, and high-stakes mathematics performance in the laboratory and classroom.

Mindfulness enhances emotion regulation and cognitive performance. A mindful approach may be especially beneficial in high-stakes academic testing environments, in which anxious thoughts disrupt cognitive control. The current studies examined whether mindfulness improves the emotional response to anxiety-producing testing situations, freeing working memory resources, and improving performance. In Study 1, we examined performance in a high-pressure laboratory setting. Mindfulness indirectly benefited math performance by reducing the experience of state anxiety. This benefit occurred selectively for problems that required greater working memory resources. Study 2 extended these findings to a calculus course taken by undergraduate engineering majors. Mindfulness indirectly benefited students' performance on high-stakes quizzes and exams by reducing their cognitive test anxiety. Mindfulness did not impact performance on lower-stakes homework assignments. These findings reveal an important mechanism by which mindfulness benefits academic performance, and suggest that mindfulness may help attenuate the negative effects of test anxiety.

An alternative time for telling: when conceptual instruction prior to problem solving improves mathematical knowledge.

BACKGROUND: The sequencing of learning materials greatly influences the knowledge that learners construct. Recently, learning theorists have focused on the sequencing of instruction in relation to solving related problems. The general consensus suggests explicit instruction should be provided; however, when to provide instruction remains unclear. AIMS: We tested the impact of conceptual instruction preceding or following mathematics problem solving to determine when conceptual instruction should or should not be delayed. We also examined the learning processes supported to inform theories of learning more broadly. SAMPLE: We worked with 122 second- and third-grade children. METHOD: In a randomized experiment, children received instruction on the concept of math equivalence either before or after being asked to solve and explain challenging equivalence problems with feedback. RESULTS: Providing conceptual instruction first resulted in greater procedural knowledge and conceptual knowledge of equation structures than delaying instruction until after problem solving. Prior conceptual instruction enhanced problem solving by increasing the quality of explanations and attempted procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Providing conceptual instruction prior to problem solving was the more effective sequencing of activities than the reverse. We compare these results with previous, contrasting findings to outline a potential framework for understanding when instruction should or should not be delayed.

Learning from regulatory failure: How Ostrom's restorative justice design principle helps naïve groups create wiser enforcement systems to overcome the tragedy of the commons.

Rule enforcement is critical in democratic, self-governing societies. Many political disputes occur when citizens do not understand the fundamental rationales for enforcement (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic). We examined how naïve groups learn and develop wise enforcement systems. Based on theories from behavioral economics, political science, psychology, and education, we predicted that groups need to experience failure of an enforcement system, but be guided on restorative justice principles to collectively learn from this failure. Undergraduate students (N = 288) from a Midwestern U.S. metropolitan university self-governed a simulated common-pool resource with real financial payoffs. Groups began with one of three conditions designed to create different experiences with enforcement and regulatory failure: (a) no enforcement (no communication or peer sanctioning), (b) lax enforcement (communication with peer-sanctioning), or (c) regulatory abuse (peer sanctioning without communication). Half then received facilitated guidance on restorative justice principles (e.g., discuss whether/why to use sanctions). To examine cooperation, we measured how well participants maintained the resource. To examine group learning, we created a novel coding system, which tracked groups' constitutional decisions about conservation agreements and enforcement, conceptual understanding, and the enforcement systems they created. The no-enforcement and lax-enforcement conditions quickly yielded moderate cooperation via voluntary agreements. However, such agreements prevented groups from discovering how and why to use enforcement (peer sanctioning) to improve performance. Initial exposure to regulatory failure had different effects depending on facilitation. Unfacilitated groups fixated on initial misconceptions, causing them to abandon or create less sophisticated enforcement systems, hindering cooperation. Facilitated groups learned from prior failure-discovering principles of wise enforcement (e.g., collective efficiency, self-restraint)-and created more sophisticated enforcement systems (e.g., coordinated sanctions) that improved cooperation. Guidance on restorative justice principles and experience with regulatory abuse may be necessary preconditions for naïve individuals to understand and develop wiser collective enforcement systems.

Surgically implanted endovascular, microaxial left ventricular assist device: A single institution study.

Objective: The Impella 5.5 (Abiomed, Inc), a surgically implanted endovascular microaxial left ventricular assist device, is increasingly used worldwide and there have been more than 10,000 implants. The purpose of this study is to describe a large-volume, single-center experience with the use of the Impella 5.5. Methods: Data were obtained retrospectively from patients supported with the Impella 5.5 implanted at our institution from May 1, 2020, to December 31, 2022. Demographic, operative, and postoperative outcomes for each group are described. Results are reported in median (interquartile range) or n (%). The entire cohort was divided into 5 main groups based on the intention to treat at the time of the Impella 5.5 implantation: (1) patients who had a planned Impella 5.5 implanted at the time of high-risk cardiac surgery; (2) patients with cardiogenic shock; (3) patients bridged to a durable left ventricular assist device; (4) patients bridged to transplant; and (5) patients with postcardiotomy shock who received an unplanned Impella 5.5 implant. Results: A total of 126 patients were supported with the Impella 5.5. Overall survival to device explant was 76.2%, with 67.5% surviving to discharge. Midterm survival was assessed with a median follow-up time of 318 days and demonstrated an overall survival of 60.3% and a median of 650 days (549-752). Conclusions: Outcomes after using the Impella 5.5 are variable depending on the indication of use. Patient selection may be of utmost importance and requires further experience with this device to determine who will benefit from insertion.

[Survey on the prevalence, duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding in the province of Rieti, Italy]. / Indagine su prevalenza, esclusività e durata dell'allattamento al seno nel territorio reatino.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the survey was to estimate the prevalence, duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding (AS) in the province of Rieti, using standardized indicators, for further assessment. METHODS: this is an observational prospective study, through questionnaires self-administered to parents of children receiving the first two vaccinations mandatores. The survey was conducted in the outpatient paediatric vaccine clinics and attended by parents of 198 children born in 2010, who carried out the vaccinations required by law in the first six months of life. The main outcome measures were the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding (AE), predominant breastfeeding (AP), partial breastfeeding (AC) and with formula feeding only (not AS) after three and six months in postpartum. Have been also studied a number of factors that may affect the ability of the mothers to breastfeed and its continuation. RESULTS: At 3 months of age, the proportion of infants who were being breastfed was 65.5%, (AE 39.7%, AP 11.7%, 14.1% AC), while, after 5 months in postpartum the proportion of any AS was 51.7% ( AE 18.5%, AP 15.6% and 17.9% AC). Based on the regression model, significant associations were observed between AS complete at the 3rd and 5th month, and natural delivery (OR 2.6, respectively, and OR 1.9); having breastfed her son during the first 48 hours of birth was associated with increased prevalence of AS at 3rd month (OR 3.5), but it was not significant associated at the 5th month. Pre-term birth reduces significantly the probability of BF (OR 0.3) at the first vaccination. The use of pacifiers has been associated with reduced prevalence and early discontinuation of BF (respectively, OR 0.2 at 3rd month and OR 0.3 at 5th month). CONCLUSION: The survey confirms the need to assist the new mothers in the postpartum to promote the practice of exclusive breastfeeding and its continuation. The identification of specific risk groups, such as women who have caesarean delivery or who started late lactation, allows health professionals to act with greater awareness and achieve greater efficiency in interventions.

Politically-polarized perceptions of governmental autonomy-support impact internal motivations to comply with COVID-19 safety guidelines.

Compliance with health safety guidelines is essential during pandemics. However, political polarization in the U.S. is reducing compliance. We investigated how polarized perceptions of government leaders' autonomy-support and enforcement policies impacted security and internally-motivated compliance with national (Study 1a) and state (Study 1b) safety guidelines. We surveyed 773 Republicans and Democrats from four states (California, Florida, New York, Texas) during the first wave of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, participants perceived that the decision processes of opposing political administrations did not support their autonomy. Lack of autonomy-support was associated with reduced security and internal motivations to comply (R 2 = 50.83%). When political administrations enforced health safety mandates (Democrat state leaders in this study) and were perceived as autonomy-supportive, participants reported the highest security and internally-motivated compliance (R 2 = 49.57%). This effect was especially pronounced for Republicans, who reacted negatively to enforcement without autonomy-support. Political leaders who use fair and supportive decision-making processes may legitimize enforcement of health safety guidelines, improving compliance. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11031-022-09974-x.

Playing a social dilemma game as an exploratory learning activity before instruction improves conceptual understanding.

Society's most pressing problems involve social dilemmas, yet few individuals recognize and understand their core components. We examined how a serious social dilemma game used in an educational setting impacted understanding of a classic social dilemma, the tragedy of the commons. Participants (N = 186) were randomly assigned to one of two gameplay conditions or a Lesson-Only condition without the game (traditional lesson with a reading). In the Explore-First condition, participants played the game as an exploratory learning activity before the lesson. In the Lesson-First condition, participants played the game after the lesson. Both gameplay conditions were rated as more interesting than the Lesson-Only condition. However, participants in the Explore-First condition exhibited higher conceptual understanding and spontaneous transfer to real-world dilemmas than the other conditions, which did not differ. These benefits were selective to social concepts (e.g., self-interest, interdependency) explored via gameplay. These benefits did not occur for ecological concepts (e.g., scarcity, tragedy), which were taught to everyone during the beginning instructions. Policy preferences were equal across conditions. Serious social dilemma games offer a promising educational tool for conceptual development when students can explore the complexities of social dilemmas for themselves. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Designing novel activities before instruction: Use of contrasting cases and a rich dataset.

BACKGROUND: In exploratory learning, students first explore a new topic with an activity and then receive instruction. This inversion of the traditional tell-then-practice order typically benefits conceptual knowledge and transfer, but not always. AIMS: The current work examines the impact of including contrasting cases in an exploration activity, which can enhance student perception of novel problem features. SAMPLES: Undergraduate physics students (Experiment 1, N = 129; Experiment 2, N = 92) participated as part of their regular classroom instruction. METHODS: Students completed an activity either before or after instruction (explore-first or instruct-first conditions). In Experiment 1, the activity included contrasting cases; in Experiment 2, the activity instead included a rich dataset. Students completed a post-test assessing procedural knowledge, conceptual knowledge and transfer. RESULTS: In Experiment 1, students in the explore-first condition demonstrated similar procedural knowledge, higher conceptual knowledge and higher transfer than students in the instruct-first condition. In Experiment 2, there were no significant differences in learning outcomes between explore-first and instruct-first conditions. In both experiments, students in the explore-first and instruct-first conditions reported similar cognitive load and interest and enjoyment after the activity. CONCLUSIONS: Contrasting cases may be important when designing exploratory learning activities, helping to improve both conceptual understanding and transfer to new topics.

Characterization of de novo malignancy after orthotopic heart transplantation: single-centre outcomes over 20 years.

OBJECTIVES: Malignancy is the leading cause of late mortality after orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT), and the burden of post-transplantation cancer is expected to rise in proportion to increased case volume following the 2018 heart allocation score change. In this report, we evaluated factors associated with de novo malignancy after OHT with a focus on skin and solid organ cancers. METHODS: Patients who underwent OHT at our institution between 1999 and 2018 were retrospectively reviewed (n = 488). Terminal outcomes of death and development of skin and/or solid organ malignancy were assessed as competing risks. Fine-Gray subdistribution hazards regression was used to evaluate the association between perioperative patient and donor characteristics and late-term malignancy outcomes. RESULTS: By 1, 5 and 10 years, an estimated 2%, 17% and 27% of patients developed skin malignancy, while 1%, 5% and 12% of patients developed solid organ malignancy. On multivariable Fine-Gray regression, age [1.05 (1.03-1.08); P < 0.001], government payer insurance [1.77 (1.20-2.59); P = 0.006], family history of malignancy [1.66 (1.15-2.38); P = 0.007] and metformin use [1.73 (1.15-2.59); P = 0.008] were associated with increased risk of melanoma and basal or squamous cell carcinoma. Age [1.08 (1.04-1.12); P < 0.001] and family history of malignancy [2.55 (1.43-4.56); P = 0.002] were associated with an increased risk of solid organ cancer, most commonly prostate and lung cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Vigilant cancer and immunosuppression surveillance is warranted in OHT recipients at late-term follow-up. The cumulative incidence of skin and solid organ malignancies increases temporally after transplantation, and key risk factors for the development of post-OHT malignancy warrant identification and routine monitoring.

Exploring mathematics problems prepares children to learn from instruction.

Both exploration and explicit instruction are thought to benefit learning in many ways, but much less is known about how the two can be combined. We tested the hypothesis that engaging in exploratory activities prior to receiving explicit instruction better prepares children to learn from the instruction. Children (159 second- to fourth-grade students) solved relatively unfamiliar mathematics problems (e.g., 3+5=4+□) before or after they were instructed on the concept of mathematical equivalence. Exploring problems before instruction improved understanding compared with a more conventional "instruct-then-practice" sequence. Prompts to self-explain did not improve learning more than extra practice. Microgenetic analyses revealed that problem exploration led children to more accurately gauge their competence, attempt a larger variety of strategies, and attend more to problem features-better preparing them to learn from instruction.

Formalizing the fundamental Faustian bargain: Inefficacious decision-makers sacrifice their freedom of choice to coercive leaders for economic security.

Individuals typically prefer the freedom to make their own decisions. Yet, people often trade their own decision control (procedural utility) to gain economic security (outcome utility). Decision science has not reconciled these observations. We examined how decision-makers' efficacy and security perceptions influence when, why, and how individuals exchange procedural and outcome utility. Undergraduate adults (N = 77; Mage = 19.45 years; 73% female; 62% Caucasian, 13% African American) were recruited from the psychology participant pool at a midwestern U.S. metropolitan university. Participants made financial decisions in easy and hard versions of a paid card task resembling a standard gambling task, with a learning component. During half the trials, they made decisions with a No-Choice Manager who controlled their decisions, versus a Choice Manager who granted decision control. The hard task was designed to be too difficult for most participants, undermining their efficacy and security, and ensuring financial losses. The No-Choice Manager was designed to perform moderately well, ensuring financial gains. Participants felt greater outcome satisfaction (utility) for financial gains earned via Choice, but not losses. Participants (85%) preferred the Choice manager in the easy task but preferred the No-Choice Manager (56%) in the hard task. This change in preference for choice corresponded with self-efficacy and was mediated by perceived security. We used Decision Field Theory to develop potential cognitive models of these decisions. Preferences were best described by a model that assumed decision-makers initially prefer Choice, but update their preference based on loss-dependent attentional focus. When they earned losses (hard task), decision-makers focused more on economic payoffs (financial security), causing them to deemphasize procedural utility. Losses competed for attention, pulling attention toward economic survivability and away from the inherent value of choice. Decision-makers are more likely to sacrifice freedom of choice to leaders they perceive as efficacious to alleviate perceived threats to economic security.

Trait mindfulness and intrinsic exercise motivation uniquely contribute to exercise self-efficacy.

Objective: Traditional views of exercise motivation emphasize the long-term health benefits of exercise. We investigated whether mindfulness, present-moment awareness, is associated with greater exercise motivation and exercise self-efficacy in college students. Exercise self-efficacy reflects how confident individuals are that they can persist in exercising despite obstacles. Participants: Undergraduate students (N = 188) were recruited from the psychology participant pool in Fall 2017. Methods: Participants completed an online survey assessing trait mindfulness, exercise motivation, exercise self-efficacy, and demographic information. Results: Hierarchical regression analyses revealed positive associations between intrinsic and extrinsic exercise motivation and exercise self-efficacy, mindfulness and intrinsic exercise motivation, and mindfulness and exercise self-efficacy. The latter relationship was partially mediated by intrinsic exercise motivation. Extrinsic exercise motivation was not associated with mindfulness. Conclusions: Both mindfulness and intrinsic exercise motivation independently predict exercise self-efficacy, suggesting that mindfulness may uniquely contribute to positive health behaviors in college students.

Cannulation Strategy for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Does Not Influence Total Hospital Cost.

BACKGROUND: The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services decreased reimbursement rates for peripheral venoarterial (VA) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and venovenous (VV) ECMO procedures in October 2018. Limited data are available describing hospital costs and clinical resources required to support ECMO patients. METHODS: All patients supported on ECMO at our institution between March 2017 and October 2018 were identified. Exclusion criteria were cannulation at referring hospitals, organ transplant recipients, and temporary right ventricular support. The cohort was stratified by the initial cannulation strategy. Outcomes were total hospital cost and clinical resource utilization. RESULTS: There were 29 patients supported on central VA, 72 on peripheral VA, and 37 on VV ECMO. Survival at 30 days was 48% for central vs 37% for peripheral vs 51% for VV. Hospital costs were $187,848 for central vs $178,069 for peripheral vs $172,994 for VV (P = .91). Mean hospital stay was 25.8 days for central vs 21.5 days for peripheral vs 26.2 days for VV (P = .49). Mean intensive care unit stay was 14.1 days for central vs 12.8 days for peripheral vs 7.7 days for VV (P = .25). Mean length of ECMO support was 6.5 days for central vs 6.2 days for peripheral vs 7.8 days for VV (P = .38). Mean ventilator time was 13.0 days for central vs 8.2 days for peripheral vs 10.0 days for VV (P = .06). Hemodialysis was used in 41% central patients, 47% peripheral, and 41% VV (P = .75). Theoretical ECMO reimbursement losses ranged from $1,970,698 to $5,648,219 annually under 2018 Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services rates. CONCLUSIONS: ECMO cannulation strategy has minimal impact on resource utilization and hospital cost.

When working memory mechanisms compete: Predicting cognitive flexibility versus mental set.

Cognitive flexibility is a hallmark of individuals with higher working memory capacity (WMC). Yet, individuals with higher WMC sometimes demonstrate greater rigidity in problem solving. The present research examines a novel account for these contradictory findings-that different WMC mechanisms support versus constrain cognitive flexibility. Across three studies, participants completed the water jug task-a problem-solving task requiring them to first establish and then break mental set. Predictor measures targeted three WMC mechanisms: attention control, primary memory, and secondary memory. In Study 1, primary and secondary memory predicted breaking mental set in opposite directions. Higher primary memory facilitated breaking mental set, whereas higher secondary memory hindered it. Study 2 demonstrated that attention control moderates these effects. Study 3 replicated these results using a less restrictive sampling procedure (i.e., participants were provided the strategy needed to establish mental set). The present research supports the proposed theory of functional opponency in WMC.

Note-taking format and difficulty impact learning from instructor-provided lecture notes.

The method students use to take notes impacts how they process lecture information. The current experiment examined how the format and amount of content included in instructor-provided notes affect learning. Undergraduate students listened to a brief audio-recorded science lecture that emphasised independent facts, while using one of four note-taking guides. These guides varied in their format (outline notes, cloze notes) and level of difficulty (less-difficult, more-difficult). Outline notes included a partially complete organisational framework, promoting knowledge of relationships among concepts. Cloze notes included all lecture content with select words missing, encouraging processing of specific details. Metacognitive ratings and an objective cognitive load measure confirmed that outline note-taking was the most difficult method. However, outline notes led to higher performance than cloze notes on free recall and inference questions, and equal performance on verbatim questions. These benefits were greatest in the more-difficult outline notes condition, when less information was provided. These findings are consistent with the material-appropriate difficulty framework. Increasing note-taking difficulty was desirable, but only when the activity elicited semantic processing that complemented the type of processing afforded by the learning material.

Observed to expected 30-day mortality as a benchmark for transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

OBJECTIVE: The observed-to-expected 30-day mortality ratio (O:E ratio) is a standard metric by which transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) trials have been evaluated. Early TAVR trials consistently demonstrated O:E ratio less than 0.6 after TAVR when based on the Society for Thoracic Surgery Predicted Risk of Mortality (STS-PROM) for surgical aortic valve replacement. Recent published results from the Transcatheter Valve Therapy (TVT) Registry have demonstrated O:E ratios of 1.0. We evaluated our own O:E ratios for TAVR to investigate this discordance. METHODS: Data were collected prospectively for TAVR patients from 2008 through 2015 (N = 546) and were reviewed retrospectively. The observed mortality and STS-PROM were calculated to formulate O:E ratios and were compared over a variety of subgroups. RESULTS: Overall, the O:E ratio for 30-day mortality was 0.4 and significantly less than 1 (P < .001; 95% confidence interval, 0.25-0.63). The O:E ratio relationship remained less than 0.5 for patients with low (STS-PROM < 4), moderate (STS-PROM = 4-8) and high risk (STS-PROM > 8). The O:E ratio was significantly higher for transapical patients (O:E ratio = 0.8) when compared with transfemoral patients (O:E ratio = 0.2). Lastly, O:E ratios for both commercial (O:E ratio = 0.5) and research (O:E ratio = 0.3) patients were similar (P = .337), and both were significantly less than 1 (P = .007 and P < .001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The STS-PROM consistently overestimated 30-day mortality after TAVR. Achieving an O:E ratio less than 0.6 may be a realistic goal for all TAVR programs. While an accurate and specific risk calculator for 30-day mortality after TAVR remains to be established, our data suggest that current TVT results are not acceptable for commercial TAVR and that programs with an O:E ratio greater than 0.6, based on the STS-PROM, should reevaluate internal processes to improve their results.

Individual differences in category learning: sometimes less working memory capacity is better than more.

We examined whether individual differences in working memory influence the facility with which individuals learn new categories. Participants learned two different types of category structures: rule-based and information-integration. Successful learning of the former category structure is thought to be based on explicit hypothesis testing that relies heavily on working memory. Successful learning of the latter category structure is believed to be driven by procedural learning processes that operate largely outside of conscious control. Consistent with a widespread literature touting the positive benefits of working memory and attentional control, the higher one's working memory, the fewer trials one took to learn rule-based categories. The opposite occurred for information-integration categories - the lower one's working memory, the fewer trials one took to learn this category structure. Thus, the positive relation commonly seen between individual differences in working memory and performance can not only be absent, but reversed. As such, a comprehensive understanding of skill learning - and category learning in particular - requires considering the demands of the tasks being performed and the cognitive abilities of the performer.

Dietary factors affecting iron status of children residing in rural West Virginia.

This cross-sectional study was designed to determine the prevalence of iron deficiency among a group of infants (6 to 11.9 months) and toddlers (12 to 24 months) and to examine the relationship between dietary intake and iron status. Participants were recruited from WIC clinics in counties where the prevalence of anemia was high (>10%). Twenty-four hour recalls were used to determine dietary intake. Blood was analyzed for iron studies. Dietary factors were examined for their association with iron status using logistic regression analysis. No infants were iron deficient, but 12/39 (31%) toddlers were found to be iron deficient. Ferritin was significantly higher in infants compared to toddlers (44.2 microg/L v. 19.2 microg/L, p<0.001). Milk and calcium intakes were inversely associated with iron status. Each additional serving of meat increased the odds of normal iron status by about 30%. Meat intake may help to prevent iron deficiency during the transition to table foods.

From poor performance to success under stress: working memory, strategy selection, and mathematical problem solving under pressure.

Two experiments demonstrate how individual differences in working memory (WM) impact the strategies used to solve complex math problems and how consequential testing situations alter strategy use. In Experiment 1, individuals performed multistep math problems under low- or high-pressure conditions and reported their problem-solving strategies. Under low-pressure conditions, the higher individuals' WM, the more likely they were to use computationally demanding algorithms (vs. simpler shortcuts) to solve the problems, and the more accurate their math performance. Under high-pressure conditions, higher WM individuals used simpler (and less efficacious) problem-solving strategies, and their performance accuracy suffered. Experiment 2 turned the tables by using a math task for which a simpler strategy was optimal (produced accurate performance in few problem steps). Now, under low-pressure conditions, the lower individuals' WM, the better their performance (the more likely they relied on a simple, but accurate, problem strategy). And, under pressure, higher WM individuals performed optimally by using the simpler strategies lower WM individuals employed. WM availability influences how individuals approach math problems, with the nature of the task performed and the performance environment dictating skill success or failure.