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Math anxiety relates positively to metacognitive insight into mathematical decision making
Kobe Desender1,2,3, Delphine Sasanguie4,5,6
1Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center, Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. Kobe.Desender@kuleuven.be.
Psychological Research
|May 19, 2021
Summary
This study explored math anxiety, metacognition, and decision-making. Higher math anxiety was linked to lower confidence and better prospective metacognitive efficiency, impacting STEM workforce development.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Educational Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Mathematics anxiety can negatively impact academic performance and career choices.
- Previous research on metacognition and mathematical decision-making is limited by reliance on self-report measures.
- Understanding the interplay between anxiety, metacognition, and decision accuracy is crucial for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between mathematics anxiety, metacognition, and mathematical decision-making using a novel experimental task.
- To differentiate between prospective and retrospective confidence judgments in mathematical tasks.
- To examine how mathematics anxiety influences confidence and metacognitive efficiency.
Main Methods:
- A pre-registered study employing a novel experimental mathematical decision-making task.
- Participants solved mathematical problems of varying difficulty and reported confidence prospectively and retrospectively.
- Mathematics anxiety was assessed using a standardized questionnaire.
Main Results:
- Both prospective and retrospective confidence predicted accuracy, but prospective confidence's effect diminished with task difficulty.
- Prospective confidence appears to rely on easily discernible performance cues, unlike retrospective confidence.
- Mathematics anxiety negatively correlated with overall confidence and positively with prospective metacognitive efficiency.
Conclusions:
- Metacognitive judgments and mathematics anxiety significantly influence mathematical decision-making.
- Interventions for mathematics anxiety may improve metacognitive efficiency and confidence, potentially boosting STEM engagement.
- This research provides a more nuanced understanding of metacognition in mathematical contexts, moving beyond self-report limitations.
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