Mathematics anxiety and number processing: The link between executive functions, cardinality, and ordinality

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Math anxiety (MA) is a significant barrier to children's mathematics learning.
• The precise mechanisms through which MA affects academic performance are not fully understood.
• Executive functions and basic number processing are crucial for mathematical competence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between math anxiety, number processing (cardinality and ordinality), and executive functions in school children.
• To identify specific cognitive deficits associated with high math anxiety.
• To explore the role of executive functions in mediating the impact of math anxiety on numerical skills.

Main Methods:

• Comparative study involving 127 school children (grades 4-7).
• Participants were categorized into high math anxiety (lowest quartile) and low math anxiety (highest quartile) groups.
• Assessed math anxiety, cardinality processing (digit comparison, non-symbolic number sense), ordinality processing (numerical and non-numerical), and executive functions (shifting ability).

Main Results:

• Highly math-anxious students did not differ in cardinality processing but showed deficits in ordinality processing tasks (numerical and non-numerical).
• Children with high MA exhibited poorer performance in shifting ability, a key executive function.
• Shifting ability was significantly correlated with performance on both numerical and non-numerical ordinality tasks.

Conclusions:

• Executive functions, particularly shifting ability, are implicated in the numerical deficits observed in math-anxious children.
• Ordinality processing appears more vulnerable to the effects of math anxiety than cardinality processing.
• Executive processes are likely central to understanding the link between math anxiety and delays in numerical competence.