Abstract
Math anxiety is influenced by environmental, cognitive, and personal factors. Yet, the concurrent relationships between these factors have not been examined. To this end, the current study investigated how the math anxiety of 30 sixth graders is affected by: (a) mother’s math anxiety and maternal behaviors (environmental factors); (b) children’s arithmetic skills (cognitive factors); and (c) intrinsic math motivation (personal factor). A rigorous assessment of children’s math anxiety was made by using both explicit and implicit measures. The results indicated that accessible self-representations of math anxiety, as reflected by the explicit self-report questionnaire, were strongly affected by arithmetic skills. However, unconscious cognitive constructs of math anxiety, as reflected by the numerical dot-probe task, were strongly affected by environmental factors, such as maternal behaviors and mothers’ attitudes toward math. Furthermore, the present study provided preliminary evidence of intergenerational transmission of math anxiety. The conclusions are that in order to better understand the etiology of math anxiety, multiple facets of parenting and children’s skills should be taken into consideration. Implications for researchers, parents, and educators are discussed.
Highlights
In present day society there is a growing reliance on technology and the fields of engineering and mathematics (Ashcraft and Moore, 2009)
In line with the hypotheses, the results demonstrate that: (a) higher intrinsic math motivation is associated with greater arithmetic skills, and these two constructs have negative correlations with math anxiety; (b) maternal practices with more rigid aspects are related to poorer arithmetic skills, but not to less intrinsic motivation as expected; (c) when the levels of mothers’ math anxiety are higher, their children show less intrinsic motivation, poorer arithmetic skills, and higher levels of implicitly measured math anxiety; and (d) different factors predict accessible self-representations as compared to inaccessible cognitive structures of children’s math anxiety
The current study emphasizes the importance of assessing math anxiety by using both explicit and implicit tools
Summary
In present day society there is a growing reliance on technology and the fields of engineering and mathematics (Ashcraft and Moore, 2009). Many people experience feelings of tension, anxiety, and even fear when engaging in math, a phenomenon known as math anxiety (Beilock and Maloney, 2015). It is important, to understand math anxiety and to develop ways of reducing its prevalence (Ashcraft and Moore, 2009). The current study takes up the issue of the role of mothers’ math anxiety, maternal behaviors, children’s motivation, and arithmetic skills in the development of math anxiety (Figure 1)
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