Mathematics anxiety and arithmetic performance: methodological considerations, the role of individual characteristics and domain-general cognitive factors
Creators: name: Rossi, Serena
Publisher: name: Loughborough University
Year: 2023
Subjects: Other mathematical sciences not elsewhere classified

description: Mathematical skills are involved in everyday life activities, and they affect both employment opportunities as well as socio-emotional well-being. Besides cognitive abilities, other factors seem to be involved in learning mathematics, e.g., emotional aspects and especially anxiety. In the last decades, studies have demonstrated that many people have negative attitudes and emotions towards mathematics, which include “mathematics anxiety” (MA). The studies included in this dissertation contribute theoretically and methodologically to advance the knowledge surrounding the relationship between MA and arithmetic performance, by considering the role of people’s individual characteristics and domain-general cognitive factors. In the first chapter, I reported the existing theoretical background and the gaps in the literature that my studies address. In the second chapter, I investigated the relationship between mathematics-gender stereotype endorsement, MA and mathematics self-concept using Structural Equation Modelling. The study uncovers how these variables concurrently influence university students’ arithmetic performance, and how gender influences this relationship. Results showed that men and women perceive differently the questions used for assessing MA (no measurement invariance). Moreover, in women mathematics-gender stereotype endorsement increased their level of MA which in turn negatively influenced their mathematics self-concept and arithmetic performance, while in men, I found the opposite. In the third chapter, using Latent Profile Analysis, I identified distinct individual profiles in adult university students based on their level of MA, general anxiety, and test anxiety. I examined the differences between these profiles in arithmetic performance, mathematics self-concept, mathematics self-efficacy, and some discriminant validity measures. I also investigated how gender influences the likelihood of belonging to each profile. Results revealed five different anxiety profiles (configurations of different forms of anxiety) and these profiles were differentially related to arithmetic performance and individual factors such as mathematics self-concept and self-efficacy. The fourth chapter reveals a methodological consideration for researchers to be aware of when investigating MA using self-report questionnaires: that is measurement invariance across different countries. I tested whether the items included in a questionnaire used for assessing MA (AMAS) were perceived in the same way by university students in the UK, Italy, Germany, and Poland. Overall, results showed that there was no measurement invariance across the four considered countries. This result highlights the importance of checking whether the items in the questionnaire are perceived in the same way, between groups of individuals before comparing these groups on MA or generalising results in different groups. In the fifth chapter, I investigated the causal mechanism via which MA, influences primary school children’s working memory, and their arithmetic performance by using the dual-task paradigm. Results showed that the phonological component of working memory is necessary for performing an arithmetic task. Working memory load impacted children’s arithmetic performance, and this was further amplified for children with high levels of MA. Finally, in the sixth chapter, I summarized my main findings, contribution to knowledge and the novelties, methodological contributions, and educational implications. Moreover, I offer some suggestions for future directions. Through different advanced statistical analytical techniques and research designs, this dissertation demonstrated the disruptive effect of MA on arithmetic performance and how certain individual factors and personal beliefs can mitigate or further worsen this effect. MA negatively affects one’s working memory during an arithmetic task, leading to worse performance as a result. These findings can help towards the development of effective, individualised interventions to mitigate the negative effects of MA. Furthermore, this thesis revealed that questionnaires currently used by researchers for assessing MA could be perceived differently by men and women and across different countries, which means that the scores obtained from these questionnaires may not be directly comparable between genders or countries. This finding has even broader theoretical and methodological implications for future MA research.