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Does mathematics anxiety moderate the effect of problem difficulty on cognitive effort?
Terje Ulv Throndsen1, Marcus Lindskog2, Markku Niemivirta3
1Department of Special Needs Education, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
|June 26, 2022
Summary
Mathematics anxiety (MA) does not increase cognitive effort for multiplication problems, even when they are difficult. Pupil dilation, a measure of cognitive effort, increased with problem difficulty but was not influenced by MA levels.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Educational Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- A negative correlation between mathematics anxiety (MA) and mathematics performance is established.
- MA is hypothesized to impair cognitive processes crucial for mathematical problem-solving.
- Cognitive effort, indicated by pupil dilation, increases with task difficulty, but MA's moderating role is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether mathematics anxiety (MA) moderates the relationship between arithmetic problem difficulty and cognitive effort.
- To examine the impact of multiplication problem difficulty on cognitive effort, measured by pupil dilation.
- To determine if MA influences the cognitive resources allocated to solving math problems of varying difficulty.
Main Methods:
- Thirty-four Norwegian university students performed multiplication tasks across three difficulty levels.
- Cognitive effort was measured using eye-tracking to record pupil dilation.
- Participants completed questionnaires for MA and assessments for arithmetic competence, general intelligence, and working memory.
Main Results:
- Increased multiplication problem difficulty led to significantly greater pupil dilation, indicating higher cognitive effort.
- Mathematics anxiety (MA) did not significantly moderate the effect of problem difficulty on cognitive effort.
- After controlling for arithmetic competence, general intelligence, and working memory, MA's moderating effect remained non-significant.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive effort in solving multiplication problems increases with difficulty, as evidenced by pupil dilation.
- Mathematics anxiety (MA) does not appear to be a significant factor in modulating cognitive effort allocation during arithmetic tasks.
- The findings suggest that MA may not directly contribute to increased cognitive load when solving multiplication problems, independent of other cognitive factors.
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