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The neurocognitive mechanism underlying math avoidance among math anxious people
Jie Liu1,2, Zhifeng Li1,2, Jiawang Yang3
1School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
NPJ Science of Learning
|August 2, 2025
Summary
Individuals with high math anxiety (HMA) avoid math tasks due to increased sensitivity to difficulty, not rewards. Brain imaging reveals distinct neural patterns linked to this math avoidance behavior.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
- Psychology
Background:
- Math anxiety significantly impacts academic performance and engagement.
- Math avoidance is a common consequence of high math anxiety (HMA), leading to less practice and poorer outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cognitive and neural mechanisms driving math avoidance in individuals with HMA.
- To differentiate the roles of task difficulty sensitivity and reward sensitivity in math avoidance.
Main Methods:
- Employed an approach-avoid conflict paradigm.
- Utilized general linear mixed model and Hierarchical Drift Diffusion Model (HDDM) regression analyses.
- Conducted neuroimaging to examine brain activation and functional connectivity.
Main Results:
- Avoidance behavior in HMA individuals is primarily driven by heightened sensitivity to task difficulty.
- Task difficulty sensitivity was found to mediate the relationship between math anxiety and avoidance.
- Distinct patterns of activation and functional connectivity were observed in the ventral valuation and cognitive control networks in HMA participants.
Conclusions:
- Heightened sensitivity to task difficulty is a key cognitive mechanism underlying math avoidance in HMA.
- Specific neural regions, including the hippocampus and mid-cingulate cortex, play a mediating role in math anxiety and avoidance.
- Findings offer insights for developing targeted interventions for math anxiety and avoidance.
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