Finger counting can be useful in solving arithmetic problems, noticeably because it
reduces the working memory demand of mental calculations. However, proprioceptive
information might not be sufficient to keep track of the number of fingers raised
during problem solving, and visual input may play an important role in this process.
The present study was designed to address this question and shows that 8-year-old
children look at their fingers in 60% of the trials during finger counting when solving
additive problems. Moreover, our results reveal that the frequency of finger looking is
negatively correlated with working memory capacities and is higher for more difficult
problems. These findings suggest that finger looking is recruited in managing the
cognitive demand of the arithmetic task, probably by providing additional external
cues to monitor the number of steps that have to be incremented during finger counting.