scholarly journals The Relationship Between Math Anxiety and Math Performance: A Meta-Analytic Investigation

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Zhang ◽  
Nan Zhao ◽  
Qi Ping Kong
Author(s):  
Sara Caviola ◽  
Enrico Toffalini ◽  
David Giofrè ◽  
Jessica Mercader Ruiz ◽  
Dénes Szűcs ◽  
...  

AbstractThe relationship between anxiety and mathematics has often been investigated in the literature. Different forms of anxiety have been evaluated, with math anxiety (MA) and test anxiety (TA) consistently being associated with various aspects of mathematics. In this meta-analysis, we have evaluated the impact of these forms of anxiety, distinguishing between different types of mathematical tasks. In investigating this relationship, we have also included potential moderators, such as age, gender, working memory, type of task, and type of material. One hundred seventy-seven studies met the inclusion criteria, providing an overall sample of 906,311 participants. Results showed that both MA and TA had a significant impact on mathematics. Sociodemographic factors had modest moderating effects. Working memory (WM) also mediated the relationship between MA and TA with mathematics; however, this indirect effect was weak. Theoretical and educational implications, as well as future directions for research in this field, are discussed.


Methodology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 89-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler Hamby ◽  
Robert A. Peterson

Abstract. Using two meta-analytic datasets, we investigated the effect that two scale-item characteristics – number of item response categories and item response-category label format – have on the reliability of multi-item rating scales. The first dataset contained 289 reliability coefficients harvested from 100 samples that measured Big Five traits. The second dataset contained 2,524 reliability coefficients harvested from 381 samples that measured a wide variety of constructs in psychology, marketing, management, and education. We performed moderator analyses on the two datasets with the two item characteristics and their interaction. As expected, as the number of item response categories increased, so did reliability, but more importantly, there was a significant interaction between the number of item response categories and item response-category label format. Increasing the number of response categories increased reliabilities for scale-items with all response categories labeled more so than for other item response-category label formats. We explain that the interaction may be due to both statistical and psychological factors. The present results help to explain why findings on the relationships between the two scale-item characteristics and reliability have been mixed.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nachshon Korem ◽  
Orly Rubinsten

Current evidence suggests that math anxiety and working memory govern math performance. However, these conclusions are largely based on simple correlations, without considering these variables as a network or examining correlations at the latent variables level. Thus, questions remain regarding the role of the unique and shared variance between math anxiety, working memory and math performance. The purpose of the current study was to (i) uncover the underlying relationships between the variables to understand the unique contribution of each element to the network; (ii) measure the shared variance and identify the interactions between affect and cognition that control math performance. Our analytical approach involved both network analysis approach and structural equation modeling, with a sample of 116 female students.Results show that math anxiety and working memory affect math performance by different mechanisms. Only working memory tests that included numeric information were correlated to math anxiety. Each of the various working memory tasks correlated differently to math performance: working memory as a single latent variable was a better predictor of math performance than visuospatial and verbal working memory as two separate latent variables. Overall, both working memory and math anxiety affect math performance. Working memory tasks that include numeric information can affect performance in math anxious individuals.


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Florencia Reali ◽  
William Jiménez-Leal ◽  
Carolina Maldonado-Carreño ◽  
Amy Devine ◽  
Dénes Szücs

Psihologija ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ljiljana Lazarevic ◽  
Ana Orlic

In PISA 2012 cycle, the focus was on the mathematics literacy. Data collected in PISA survey in Serbia on 4684 respondents show that students on average have significantly lower performance compared to average OECD performance. The aim of the study was to explore student (variables at the first level) and school level predictors (variables at the second level) of the PISA mathematics literacy using multi-level modelling. The most important finding is that student and school level variables are explaining variability in PISA mathematics performance almost equally. Results show that on the student level, significant predictors are gender, noncognitive characteristics (mathematics anxiety, mathematics self-efficacy, mathematics self-concept, openness for problem-solving), student perceived teaching quality and studying habits. Results also indicate that several school-level variables have direct effects on the PISA math performance and that several school-level variables moderate the relationship between student characteristics and PISA performance.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Basso

Anxiety in pre-service elementary teachers (PSETs) often affects their views of mathematics as well as the practices and teaching methods they choose to use. Due to this, many PSETs often choose to use traditional teaching methods in the classroom which can have counteractive effects on their math anxiety (Harper & Daane, 1998; Olson & Stoehr, 2019; Tooke & Lindstrom, 1998). The goal of this paper is to better comprehend and discover the ways in which math anxiety in PSETs impacts their teaching and whether there are ways to limit these negative emotions about mathematics. Much of the research on this topic look at either PSETs’ beliefs/views or their teaching practices. The focus of this paper will be to analyze the relationship between their beliefs/views and their teaching such to look at how one influences the other or if they have a symbiotic relationship as well as looking at how one’s individual psychology influences these beliefs/views. Using a symbolic interactionist lens, the arguments provide evidence from the literature that looks at the relationships between people and others. Moreover, in touching upon these relationships, this paper also delves into gender issues and stereotypes that have influenced these relationships. The implications of this paper deal primarily with the impact of gender stereotypes on teaching and anxiety as well as what teaching practices are most favourable when looking at reducing anxiety levels in PSETs.


Author(s):  
Scott Tobias ◽  
Duane Rudy ◽  
Jean Ispa

This study explores whether any relationships exist between math performance scores on the Missouri Assessment Plan (MAP), its subscales and time spent playing the child’s favorite videogame given the game’s spatial content and cognitive complexity. Relationships between gender and math scores were also examined. Findings indicate no main effect of time spent playing, spatial content, or level of complexity of games on math performance. However, several math scores interacted with time spent playing one’s favorite video game, such that higher levels of math performance occurred when participants played games high in spatial content at low amounts of time. A similar interaction occurred when examining complexity of the game and time spent playing. The study provides preliminary evidence that it may be important to consider the spatial or complexity content of videogames in addition to time spent playing when addressing the relationship between videogame play and adolescent math performance.


2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 377-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen M. Shockley ◽  
Dan Ispas ◽  
Michael E. Rossi ◽  
Edward L. Levine

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 1023-1054
Author(s):  
Monika Szczygieł

Abstract The study investigated the relationship between math anxiety in parents and teachers and math anxiety and math achievement in first- to third-grade children. The results indicate that math anxiety in fathers (but not mothers and teachers) is associated with math anxiety in first-grade children and third-grade girls. Math anxiety in mothers and teachers (but not fathers) explains the level of math achievement in third-grade children. The research results indicate the importance of adults in shaping pupils’ math anxiety and math achievement, but these relationships vary depending on gender and the grade year. The obtained outcomes generally suggest that adults’ math anxiety is not a social source of children’s math anxiety, but it can be considered a source of low math achievement among children in the final grade of early school education.


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