Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying the Influence of Facial Information Processing on Estimation Performance

This study aimed to investigate the roles of facial information processing and math anxiety in estimation performance. Across three experiments, participants completed a two-digit multiplication estimation task under the conditions of emotion judgment (Experiment 1), identity judgment (Experiment 2), and combined emotion and identity judgment (Experiment 3). In the estimation task, participants used either the down-up or up-down problem to select approximate answers. In Experiment 1, we found that negative emotions impair estimation performance, while positive and consistent emotions have a facilitating effect on estimation efficiency. In Experiment 2, we found that emotion and identity consistency interact with each other, and negative emotions actually promote estimation efficiency when identity is consistent. In Experiment 3, we found that emotion, identity consistency, and emotional consistency have complex interactions on estimation performance. Moreover, in most face-processing conditions, participants' estimation performance is not affected by their level of math anxiety. However, in a small number of cases, mean proportions under happy and fearful conditions are negatively correlated with math anxiety.