What is math anxiety?

in #steemstem5 years ago (edited)

(This article is a translation of an article originally publish in French.)

If you have followed a normal school curriculum, you have necessarily had a lot of math lessons. Ah... math. Some people love it (for intellectual stimulation), and others hate it (because they don't understand much about it). For many people, math is complicated, boring, and even almost incomprehensible to some. But for many people, math problems are a source of anxiety and stress, more than many other academic subjects.

Why is math considered more scary than other subjects? What are the causes of this anxiety that affects so many people when it comes to doing math? This is what we are going to explain in this article.

Disclaimer: I'm not a mathematician, and I'm not a math specialist at all, I'm trying to explain why math is repulsive to so many people.


Math anxiety: a form of fear

What is mathematical anxiety? We could define it very simply as a form of fear or apprehension about math or mathematical tests. This may be due to difficulties in understanding, pressure caused by difficulty or a time limit on a test, fear of embarrassment in front of other people or the influence of teachers.

It is a form of anxiety that is frequently disabling and can disrupt a person's ability to solve a problem, especially during a real exam. Where does this anxiety come from and how is it created? This is what we will see in the rest of this article.


The consequences of bad experiences

If we ask the people concerned why they hate math, the answer that comes back very often is that they have bad memories of some courses, usually because of uninteresting teachers, with a bad pedagogy and too severe with people who had difficulties. For many people, fear of math is linked to bad memories related to some teachers. However, you may have known people who, by taking a course with a patient and encouraging teacher, suddenly found math a little less repulsive and a little more understandable. The pedagogy and teaching methods of the teachers you previously had in the past still have a big role in how you perceive math. This observation has been confirmed by quite a few university studies.

In 2005, Brady and Bowd showed that mathematical anxiety was widespread, and that the main causes were bad experiences in primary and secondary school, the other reason being the level of the exercises presented. The courses a student takes in elementary and secondary school therefore have a major impact on his or her perception of math, and indirectly on his or her future performance.

Also in 2005, another study (by Schmidt) asked students in higher education to share their experiences with mathematical anxiety. Eight main reasons emerged:

  • disrespectful, humiliating or intimidating instructions
  • a poor family environment (parents not encouraging enough, abusive parents, parental conflicts)
  • a major change in the living environment (relocation, divorce of parents, accident, death of a relative)
  • a lack of self-esteem and confidence in one's ability to succeed
  • a perfectionist side
  • culture or gender (e.g. women are considered less able)
  • a tendency to believe that they are unfit for math or to see failure as inevitable
  • the lack of explanatory instructions.

In short, there are many reasons that can make you hate math. The teachers and courses you had still have a lot to do with your perception of math, but the personal and family context of a student also has a significant impact. If you have family or other personal problems during your school years, you are more likely to suffer from mathematical anxiety. Psychological and sociological studies conducted on this subject show that people who have a strong tendency to be anxious about math often have similarities. First, these people often have problems with teacher instructions and exercises. It can be assumed that the explanations and some pedagogical methods are not sufficiently adapted and not clear enough. Second, people who are anxious about math do not have (or didn't have) enough support from their parents. There are many reasons for this. This may be a lack of interest in math or even education, or even a lack of competence. Parents with higher education levels are generally more able to help their children to do their homework than parents who have a lower education level with less math. People with higher scientific or technical education tend to have a better understanding of the importance of math. If your parents are doctors or engineers, you are much more likely to succeed than if you have working class parents who have no college or university degrees. Many studies have shown a correlation between socio-economic class and academic achievement (including math). Third, many anxious individuals have negative experiences that may have disrupted their schooling (moving, changing schools, divorce, family health problems) and often have low self-esteem (especially when it comes to doing math).

A study by Krystle O'Leary, Cheryll L. Fitzpatrick and Darcy Hallett, published in the journal "Frontiers in Psychology". In this experiment, the researchers followed 131 students from elementary school to high school and asked them what their experience with math was. Participants had taken courses in psychology (57), science (40) or art (18). The results showed that not only was mathematical anxiety widespread among students of different backgrounds (scientific or not), but that there was also a strong correlation with student performance...


A contagious phenomenon?

Mathematical anxiety is also reported to be contagious. In 2012, Gerardo Ramirez, Elizabeth A. Gunderson, Susan C. Levine and Sian L. Beilock published a study in the Journal of Cognition and Development showing that parents with mathematical anxiety tend to transmit this anxiety to their children.

Mathematical anxiety also tends to affect girls differently. In early 2010, the same researchers published a study indicating that female teachers' mathematical anxiety tended to affect girls more and accentuate the stereotype that "boys are good at math and girls good at reading". Other studies, such as those conducted by the Universities of Missouri, California and Glasgow, have also found higher mathematical anxiety among girls. Several hypotheses suggest explanations, for example stereotypes related to maths, a discipline considered rather masculine... Girls tend to feel less comfortable with math and science classes, and this phenomenon tends to degrade their performance...


Math anxiety and its impact on mathematical performance

As you might expect, being anxious can disrupt your ability to concentrate and solve a mathematical problem. This is a known and widespread problem at the global level. In the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) ranking, students with high levels of mathematical anxiety generally had lower math scores than those with low levels of anxiety. In the 2012 study, this was true in 63 countries out of 64 participants. It has also been observed over several years that the best performing countries generally have students who are less anxious than those with lower performance. Is it anxiety that lowers performance? Is mathematical anxiety a consequence of disappointing performance? Or both? It is difficult to bring a clear answer to these questions. Several studies show that anxiety tends to lower mathematical performance, but many researchers do not exclude the possibility of a two-way link. The most likely hypothesis is that anxiety is both a cause and a consequence.


How to fight mathematical anxiety?

For many people, math is a source of anxiety, even a phobia. A problem cannot be solved by ignoring it or burying one's head in the sand. The best way to fight mathematical anxiety... is to do more math in order to improve your level. And for that, there is no secret, you have to learn and practice. Even without becoming good at math, improving and understanding the concepts can reduce MA drastically. Deliberate and voluntary practice is a good way to achieve positive results, whether for math or physics, or anything else.

Doing math and improving in this domain is good for improving your mathematical culture (and eventually your grades), but it is also good for your emotional health. According to a study by Duke University (United States) published in Clinical Psychological Science, this would have an effect on the regulation of emotions. Mathematical exercises based on memory tend to stimulate an area of the brain called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, an area that is also linked to depressive and anxious behaviours.

Duke researchers asked 186 undergraduate students do exercises on MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). In this study, they observed that the most active subjects in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were also those who reported a better ability to manage their emotions in difficult situations.

Math anxiety can be fought. In her book A Mind For Numbers, Barbara Oakley explain how bad at math she was when she was in school. Far later, she found reasons to study math and science. Now, she has a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering.


Mathematical anxiety, a global problem?

According to several international studies and rankings, math anxiety seems to be a global phenomenon. We could even say that it is an epidemic. It is not only a problem from an academic point of view, it is also a problem from an economic point of view. If a country's level of math is low, the proportion of people who will study in scientific careers tends to be lower, and with a lower performance level. Nowadays, however, it is sectors such as information technology, new technologies and finance that produce the most wealth.
Countries with very high educational attainment tend to have a higher GDP per capita. According to Stanford researchers' estimates, improving a country's academic performance (especially in math and science) in the US would lead to an increase in national GDP in the longer term...


References

Origins of math anxiety

Math and self-esteem

Stress and performance

Math and mental health

Other references

Recommanded book


What is your experience with math anxiety?

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