摘要：We introduce the concept of consistency of a multiplication problem with its
neighbours (e.g., problem 6 ´ 4 has neighbours 6 ´ 3 and 6 ´ 5). Two problems
are consistent to the extent that their solutions have the same decade or unit
values. It is argued that this measure of consistency provides a natural
explanation for a number of hitherto unrelated findings in the literature, for
example, the size effect and the tie effect in mental multiplication. Further,
the consistency of some multiplication problems was experimentally manipulated
by present-ing or not presenting a number of neighbours of these particular
problems. We observed response time differences between conditions in solving
these problems that were consistent with our predictions. The findings emphasize
the role of consistency of multiplication prob-lems, similar to consistency
effects observed in psycholinguistics (e.g., Seidenberg & McClelland, 1989).
