Mathematical and Negative Information Are Similarly Processed: Pupil Dilation as an Indicator

Emotional perception of math-related information can affect an individual's attitude and professional choices, especially in the area of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professions.

The study compared the processing of math-related words, words with negative emotional valence, and words with neutral valence, using the physiological measure of pupil dilation on a random sample of 30 adults. Pupil responses were examined during a lexical decision task (LDT). We sought to show that exposure to math-related stimuli would cause arousal of the sympathetic system leading to an increase in pupil dilation, similar to that caused by exposure to negative stimuli. Results: pupillary responses were sensitive to words with emotional valence; exposure to math-related words led to increased pupil dilation compared to neutral words; exposure to words with negative valence led to increased pupil dilation compared to neutral words; exposure to math-related words and words with negative valence led to similar pupil dilation. The study concludes math-related textual stimuli lead to increased pupil dilation, similar to negative affective valence textual stimuli.

These findings create new possibilities for studying the cognitive and emotional effort required to process math-related information using pupillary response, with implications for researchers, educators, and leaders in the field.