Are secondary school students still hampered by the natural number bias? A reaction time study on fraction comparison tasks

Rational numbers and particularly fractions are difficult for students. It is often claimed that the ‘natural number bias’ underlies erroneous reasoning about rational numbers. This cross-sectional study investigated the natural number bias in first and fifth year secondary school students. Relying on dual process theory assumptions that differentiate between intuitive and analytic processes, we measured accuracies and reaction times on fraction...