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Related Experiment Video

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Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance
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Working Memory and Its Mediating Role on the Relationship of Math Anxiety and Math Performance: A Meta-Analysis.

Jonatan Finell1, Ellen Sammallahti2, Johan Korhonen2

  • 1Department of Applied Educational Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.

Frontiers in Psychology
|February 7, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Math anxiety negatively impacts math performance. This meta-analysis confirms that working memory mediates this relationship, supporting the Attentional Control Theory and highlighting anxiety

Keywords:
Attentional Control Theory (ACT)math anxietymath performancemeta-analysisworking memory

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Educational Psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Math anxiety (MA) is consistently linked to poorer math performance (MP).
  • Attentional Control Theory (ACT) posits that anxiety disrupts attentional control and increases threat focus.
  • The relationship between MA and working memory (WM) is theorized as crucial for MP within the ACT framework.

Approach:

  • A meta-analysis synthesized data from 57 studies (150 effect sizes) investigating the MA-MP correlation.
  • A random-effects model was employed to determine the overall MA-MP relationship.
  • The mediating role of WM in the MA-MP relationship was examined using available effect sizes.

Key Points:

  • The meta-analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between math anxiety and math performance (r = -0.168).
  • Working memory demonstrated a mediating effect in the math anxiety-math performance link (indirect effect = -0.092).
  • Findings provide empirical support for the Attentional Control Theory's explanation of math anxiety's impact.

Conclusions:

  • Working memory plays a significant mediating role in the negative relationship between math anxiety and math performance.
  • The results align with and reinforce the tenets of Attentional Control Theory.
  • Understanding the MA-WM-MP connection is vital for developing interventions to improve math outcomes.