Mathematical anxiety, also known as math phobia and math anxiety, is a feeling of tension and anxiety that interferes with the manipulation of numbers and the solving of mathematical problems in daily life and academic situations. It is a phenomenon that is often considered when examining students' problems in mathematics. Mathematical anxiety is often linked to testing anxiety, and can cause overall distress, along with dislike and avoidance of math-related tasks.
History The academic study of math anxiety originates as early as the 1950s, when Mary Fides Gough introduced the term mathemaphobia to describe the phobia-like feelings of many towards mathematics. The first math anxiety measurement scale was developed in 1972.
Identification & Rating Scales Frank Richardson and Richard Suinn introduced the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS) in 1972. Elevated scores on the MARS translate to high math anxiety. Other tests are often given to measure different dimensions of math anxiety, such as Elizabeth Fennema and Julia Sherman's Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales (FSMAS). Despite the introduction of newer instrumentation, the use of the MARS test appears to be the educational standard for measuring math anxiety due to its specificity and prolific use.
Impact on Performance Math anxiety manifests itself in a variety of ways, including physical, psychological, and behavioral symptoms, that can all disrupt a student's mathematical performance. An individual with math anxiety does not necessarily lack ability in mathematics. Rather, they cannot perform to their full potential due to the interfering symptoms of their anxiety.
The strong negative correlation between high math anxiety and low achievement is often thought to be due to the impact of math anxiety on working memory. Working memory has a limited capacity. A large portion of this capacity is dedicated to problem-solving when solving mathematical tasks. However, in individuals with math anxiety, much of this space is taken up by anxious thoughts, thus compromising the individual's ability to perform.
Schools’ frequent reliance on high-stakes and timed testing, where students tend to feel the most anxiety, can also lead to lower achievement for math-anxious individuals. Students experiencing high math anxiety demonstrate mathematics scores that are 34 points lower than students who do not have math anxiety, equivalent to one full year of school. Moreover, the influence of mathematical anxiety on performance increases over time, due to the accumulation of inadequate experience as children grow up.
Math anxiety Mark H. Ashcraft defines math anxiety as "a feeling of tension, apprehension, or fear that interferes with math performance" (2002, p. 1). It is a phenomenon that is often considered when examining students' problems in mathematics. According to the American Psychological Association, mathematical anxiety is often linked to testing anxiety. This anxiety can cause distress and likely causes a dislike and avoidance of all math-related tasks. Since this development, several researchers have looked at math anxiety in empirical studies. Hembree (1990) conducted a meta-analysis of 151 studies concerning math anxiety. The study determined that math anxiety is related to poor math performance on math achievement tests and to negative attitudes concerning math. Hembree also suggests that math anxiety is directly connected with math avoidance.
In contrast, a study by the University of Cambridge"Understanding Mathematics Anxiety: Investigating the experiences of UK primary and secondary school students" Dr. Denes Szucs, March 14th (Pi day!) 2019 found that 77% of children with high maths anxiety were normal to high achievers on curriculum maths tests. Maths Anxiety has also been linked to perfectionism.MATH ANXIETY AND PERFECTIONISTIC CONCERNS INMULTIPLE-CHOICE ASSESSMENT, Núñez-Peña & Bono, University of Barcelona, https://diposit.ub.edu/dspace/bitstream/2445/205782/1/231349.pdf
Ashcraft (2002) suggests that highly anxious math students will avoid situations in which they have to perform mathematical tasks. Unfortunately, math avoidance results in less competency, exposure and math practice, leaving students more anxious and mathematically unprepared to achieve. In college and university, anxious math students take fewer math courses and tend to feel negative toward the subject. In fact, Ashcraft found that the correlation between math anxiety and variables such as self-confidence and motivation in math is strongly negative.
According to Schar, because math anxiety can cause math avoidance, an empirical dilemma arises. For instance, when a highly math-anxious student performs disappointingly on a math question, it could be due to math anxiety or the lack of competency in math because of math avoidance. Ashcraft determined that by administering a test that becomes increasingly more mathematically challenging, he noticed that even highly math-anxious individuals do well on the first portion of the test measuring performance. However, on the latter and more difficult portion of the test, there was a stronger negative relationship between accuracy and math anxiety.
According to the research found at the University of Chicago by Sian Beilock and her group, math anxiety is not simply about being bad at math. After using brain scans, scholars confirmed that the anticipation or the thought of solving math actually causes math anxiety. The brain scans showed that the area of the brain that is triggered when someone has math anxiety overlaps the same area of the brain where bodily harm is registered.Harms, William. "When People Worry about Math, the Brain Feels the Pain." UChicago News. The University of Chicago, 31 Oct. 2012. Web. 02 Mar. 2014. And Trezise and Reeve show that students' math anxiety can fluctuate throughout the duration of a math class. Math and culture While there are overarching similarities concerning the acquisition of math skills, researchers have shown that children's mathematical abilities differ across countries. In Canada, students score substantially lower in math problem-solving and operations than students in Korea, India and Singapore. Researchers have conducted thorough comparisons between countries and determined that in some areas, such as Taiwan and Japan, parents place more emphasis on effort rather than one's innate intellectual ability in school success. By placing a higher emphasis on effort rather than one's innate intellectual ability, they are helping their child develop a growth mindset.Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success.New York: Random House. People who develop a growth mindset believe that everyone has the ability to grow their intellectual ability, learn from their mistakes, and become more resilient learners. Rather than getting stuck on a problem and giving up, students with a growth mindset try other strategies to solve the problem. A growth mindset can benefit everyone, not just people trying to solve math computations. Moreover, parents in these countries tend to set higher expectations and standards for their children. In turn, students spend more time on homework and value homework more than American children.
In addition, researchers Jennifer L. Brown et al. shows that difference in level of mathematical anxiety among different countries may result from varying degrees of the courses. In the same culture, there is little difference in anxiety scale that is associated with gender, while the anxiety is more related with its type. Samples show greater degree of anxiety at subscale.
MEA (Mathematical Evaluation Anxiety) compared with LMA (Learning Mathematical Anxiety).
Math and gender Another difference in mathematic abilities often explored in research concerns gender disparities. There has been research examining gender differences in performance on standardized tests across various countries. Beller and Gafni's have shown that children at approximately nine years of age do not show consistent gender differences in relation to math skills. However, in 17 out of the 20 countries examined in this study, 13-year-old boys tended to score higher than girls. Moreover, mathematics is often labeled as a masculine ability; as a result, girls often have low confidence in their math capabilities.. These gender stereotypes can reinforce low confidence in girls and can cause math anxiety as research has shown that performance on standardized math tests is affected by one's confidence. As a result, educators have been trying to abolish this stereotype by fostering confidence in math in all students in order to avoid math anxiety.Kail, R.V., & Zolner, T. (2005). Children. Toronto: Prentice Hall.
While on the other hand, results obtained by Monika Szczygiel show that girls have a higher level of anxiety on testing and in total, although there is no gender difference in general learning math anxiety. Therefore, the gender gap in math anxiety may result from the type of anxiety. Tests triggers greater anxiety in girls compared with boys, but they feel same level of anxiety learning math.
Math pedagogy The principles of mathematics are generally understood at an early age; preschoolers can comprehend the majority of principles underlying counting. By kindergarten, it is common for children to use counting in a more sophisticated manner by adding and subtracting numbers. While kindergarteners tend to use their fingers to count, this habit is soon abandoned and replaced with a more refined and efficient strategy; children begin to perform addition and subtraction mentally at approximately six years of age. When children reach approximately eight years of age, they can retrieve answers to mathematical equations from memory. With proper instruction, most children acquire these basic mathematical skills and are able to solve more complex mathematical problems with sophisticated training.
High-risk teaching styles are often explored to gain a better understanding of math anxiety. Goulding, Rowland, and BarberGoulding, M., Rowland, T., Barber, T. (2002). Does it matter? Primary teachers trainees' subject knowledge in mathematics. British Educational Research Journal, 28, 689-704. suggest that there are linkages between a teacher's lack of subject knowledge and the ability to plan teaching material effectively. These findings suggest that teachers who do not have a sufficient background in mathematics may struggle with the development of comprehensive lesson plans for their students. Similarly, Laturner's research shows that teachers with certification in math are more likely to be passionate and committed to teaching math than those without certification. However, those without certification vary in their commitment to the profession depending on coursework preparation.
A study conducted by Kawakami, Steele, Cifa, Phills, and Dovidio examined attitudes towards math and behavior during math examinations. The study examined the effect of extensive training in teaching women how to approach math. The results showed that women who were trained to approach rather than avoid math showed a positive implicit attitude towards math. These findings were only consistent with women low in initial identification with math. This study was replicated with women who were either encouraged to approach math or who received neutral training. Results were consistent and demonstrated that women taught to approach math had an implicit positive attitude and completed more math problems than women taught to approach math in a neutral manner.