Comparison of the Influences of Different Types of Extrinsic Motivation on Different Age Groups of Learners’ Math Anxiety Level

Abstract

Motivations, including intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, are impactful factors that contribute to the development of math anxiety or increasing math anxiety level of learners at different ages. Considering the importance of mathematics for the population in the society today and the fact that math learning is not enjoyable for everyone, reviewing and comparing the effects of different types of extrinsic motivation on varied age groups of learners’ math anxiety level is necessary. Specifically, the present paper compared the influences of external regulation, introjected regulation, and identification on elementary age learners’ math anxiety level and adolescent learners’ math anxiety level, and found three major differences among the influences of the three types of extrinsic motivations between the two age groups: first, external regulation from authority figures has more negative effects in math anxiety of elementary age learners; second, external regulation from peers and society are more influential factors causing the alteration of the adolescent learners’ math anxiety level; third, identification-led math anxiety aggravates as pressure of math learning increases. It aims to provide assistance to the teachers and caregivers of the learners on promoting the learners to make use of their full potential in math learning, and also, aims to provide reference for future studies in relevant fields. It is expected that future studies would conduct relevant researches more creatively and look into specific areas in the field (for example, identification in different levels of learners and introjected regulation in learners) in order to dig deeper into the field.