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Is Math Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning? The Role of Math Motivation
Open accessAbstract
The linear relations between math anxiety and math cognition have been frequently studied. However, the relations between anxiety and performance on complex cognitive tasks have been repeatedly demonstrated to follow a curvilinear fashion. In the current studies, we aimed to address the lack of attention given to the possibility of such complex interplay between emotion and cognition in the math-learning literature by exploring the relations among math anxiety, math motivation, and math cognition. In two samples—young adolescent twins and adult college students—results showed inverted-U relations between math anxiety and math performance in participants with high intrinsic math motivation and modest negative associations between math anxiety and math performance in participants with low intrinsic math motivation. However, this pattern was not observed in tasks assessing participants’ nonsymbolic and symbolic number-estimation ability. These findings may help advance the understanding of mathematics-learning processes and provide important insights for treatment programs that target improving mathematics-learning experiences and mathematical skills.
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TL;DR
In two samples (262 adolescent twin pairs and 237 college students), math anxiety related to math performance differently depending on intrinsic math motivation: high motivation showed an inverted-U relation, while low motivation showed modest negative linear associations. This pattern held for computation/problem tasks but not for symbolic or nonsymbolic number estimation.
Key findings
- In both samples, students with high intrinsic math motivation showed an inverted-U relation between math anxiety and math performance, peaking at intermediate anxiety; students with low intrinsic math motivation showed modest negative associations across anxiety levels.
- In Study 1, after covariates, the quadratic math-anxiety term was significantly associated with Problem Verification and Calculation performance; the moderated quadratic term (MA² × MM) was significantly related to four tasks—Composing and Decomposing Numbers, Problem Verification, Calculation, and Applied Problems—but not to the Dots or Number-Line tasks. Total variance explained by predictors ranged from .02 to .25 across the six tasks.
- In Study 2, hierarchical regression found the moderated quadratic interaction between math anxiety and math motivation significantly predicted Problem Verification performance after covariates and lower-order terms; post-hoc analyses replicated the Study 1 pattern.
- In Study 1, math anxiety was negatively associated with all tasks after covariates, and math motivation was positively associated with all math tasks in the moderated models; in Study 2, math anxiety was negatively associated with math performance and math motivation positively associated with it.
Methods
- Study 1: 262 pairs of same-sex adolescent twins from the Western Reserve Reading and Math Projects, mean age 12.25 years (SD = 1.20; range = 8.75–15.33). Participants self-reported math anxiety (MARS-E), math motivation (3 items from Chiu & Zeng, 2008), and general anxiety; math cognition was assessed with six tasks (Dots, Number-Line, Composing and Decomposing Numbers, Problem Verification, WJ-III Calculation, WJ-III Applied Problems). Structural equation modeling with interchangeable dyads was used, with bootstrapping on 1000 samples.
- Study 2: 237 undergraduates (56% female; 18 excluded for technical problems or random responses), mean age 19.53 years (SD = 2.01; range = 18–39), recruited from Introductory Psychology via Qualtrics. Measures included MARS-B math anxiety, STAI trait anxiety, the same 3-item math motivation scale, and the hard items of the Problem Verification Task; hierarchical regression tested the moderated quadratic interaction.
- Math anxiety, math motivation, and general anxiety were standardized and centered before computing interaction and higher-order terms; outcome variables were standardized.
Limitations
- Stated in the paper: the findings should not be interpreted as evidence of a unidirectional causal relation between math-related emotion and math cognition, and longitudinal studies spanning multiple developmental stages are needed.
- Stated/evident in the text: the three-way interaction was complex and effect sizes were small, with affect variables adding only incremental predictive effects beyond covariates.
- Evident from the text: Study 1’s sample was 91% White and consisted of twins, and Study 2 used volunteer Introductory Psychology undergraduates, limiting generalizability; both studies were cross-sectional and relied on self-report affect measures.
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A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Additionally, general anxiety was minimally correlated with math task performance whereas MA was modestly negatively correlated with math performance.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“Additionally, general anxiety was minimally correlated with math task performance whereas MA was modestly negatively correlated with math performance.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesA result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“In both samples, results showed inverted-U relations between math anxiety and math performance in students with high intrinsic math motivation, and modest negative associations between math anxiety and math performance in students with low intrinsic math motivation.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Abstract
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In the paper
“In both samples, results showed inverted-U relations between math anxiety and math performance in students with high intrinsic math motivation, and modest negative associations between math anxiety and math performance in students with low intrinsic math motivation.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Abstract
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In the paper
“However, this pattern was not observed in tasks assessing student’s nonsymbolic and symbolic number estimation.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Abstract
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In the paper
“At high levels of MM, there was an inverted-U curvilinear relation between MA and task performance.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“MM was positively associated with all math tasks.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“At high levels of MM, there was an inverted-U curvilinear relation between MA and each of these four tasks, such that performance peaked at an intermediate level of MA and decreased as levels of MA deviated from this optimal intermediate level”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“total variance (i.e., total R2) in each of the six tasks explained by this set of predictors ranged from .02 to .25”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“At low levels of MM, MA was modestly negatively associated with task performance across all levels of MA”
- Also stated in: § Results · plain
“At low levels of MM, MA was modestly negatively associated with task performance across all levels of MA.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“Finally, performance on all math tasks was positively correlated.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“MM was positively correlated with the Calculation and Applied Problems tasks, but was not correlated with performance on other math tasks.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“After controlling for the covariates, linear effects of MA and MM, and all lower-order interaction terms, the moderated quadratic term (i.e., MA2*MM) was significantly related to four math tasks but were not significantly related to the Dots and Number-Line tasks.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“after controlling for all the linear and 2-way interaction effects, the moderated quadratic interaction between MA and MM was statistically significant, and added incremental predictive effects on math performance.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“and was negatively correlated with MA.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“Overall, the covariates as a set explained a major proportion of variance in these math outcome variables, whereas the main effects of MA and MM and their interactive effects together only added incremental effects in predicting math performance.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“Overall, age and sex both negatively predicted task performance, indicating that younger and male participants performed better on average, with a larger effect size for the latter.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“None of the main study variables vary as a function of age.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“general anxiety was not related to math performance.”
- Also stated in: § Results · plain
“General anxiety did not predict math performance.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“Sex (0 = female, 1 = male) was positively associated with performance on the Problem Verification task”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“In particular, one recent study showed that high activations in brain regions involved in motivating behaviors dampen the negative effects of high MA on math performance, suggesting that math performance not only varies as a function of MA, but also on how individuals approach math-related situations (Lyons & Beilock, 2012).”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Lyons & Beilock, 2012
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In the paper
“Subsequently, log transformations were performed on the skewed variables. Transformation successfully produced variables that more closely approximated normal distributions.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“Two previous studies have provided some preliminary evidence suggesting facilitative effects of moderate levels of MA on math performance in adults and mathematically gifted children (Evans, 2000; Tsui & Mazzocco, 2006).”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Evans, 2000
- Not checked yetcites Tsui & Mazzocco, 2006
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In the paper
“Number-Line Estimation Task captures individuals’ ability to represent and estimate numerical quantities spatially (Siegler & Opfer, 2003).”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Study 1 > Methods
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Siegler & Opfer, 2003
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In the paper
“Results remained essentially the same when missing data were handled using both listwise deletion and full information maximum likelihood estimation.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“The linear and quadratic effects of general anxiety (i.e., general anxiety and its squared term) were entered as manifest covariates in the model for each sibling to control for the possibility that the relations between math performance and MA are due to general anxiety, not specific anxiety about math.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“This scale has adequate internal consistency with a Cronbach’s α of .71.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Study 1 > Methods
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In the paper
“Some highly math anxious individuals are more avoidant in math, whereas others invest more efforts and recruit more cognitive resources in math problem solving (Lyons & Beilock, 2012; Wigfield & Meece, 1988).”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Lyons & Beilock, 2012
- Not checked yetcites Wigfield & Meece, 1988
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In the paper
“The Calculation subtest of the Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Achievement (Woodcock, McGraw, & Mather, 2001) is a test of mathematical computation ability.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Study 1 > Methods
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Woodcock, McGraw, & Mather, 2001
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In the paper
“In particular, one recent study showed that high activations in brain regions involved in motivating behaviors dampen the negative effects of high MA on math performance, suggesting that math performance not only varies as a function of MA, but also on how individuals approach math-related situations (Lyons & Beilock, 2012).”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Lyons & Beilock, 2012
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In the paper
“More recent studies have demonstrated that central neurochemical activities (e.g., catecholamine release and signaling) may underlie the observed curvilinear relationship between anxiety and complex cognitive performance (Arnsten, 2009; Diamond, Campbell, Park, Halonen, & Zoladz, 2007).”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Arnsten, 2009
- Not checked yetcites Diamond, Campbell, Park, Halonen, & Zoladz, 2007
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In the paper
“Problem Verification Task was developed as a measure of math calculation fluency and metacognition (Rinne & Mazzocco, 2014). We relied on the calculation fluency component of this measure in the present study.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Study 1 > Methods
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Rinne & Mazzocco, 2014
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In the paper
“To account for the biased standard errors arising from sibling non-independence, significance tests for the correlations were adjusted according to the method outlined by Griffin & Gonzalez (1995).”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Griffin & Gonzalez, 1995
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In the paper
“Composing and Decomposing Numbers Task (CDNT) is a timed measure of the automaticity of composing and decomposing numbers (Mazzocco & Hanich, 2010).”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Study 1 > Methods
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Mazzocco & Hanich, 2010
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What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The MARS-E has good internal consistency with a Cronbach’s α of .94.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Study 1 > Methods
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In the paper
“These studies revealed that an intermediate level of stress produced optimal learning efficiency of complex tasks in rats, whereas both extremely low and high levels of stress produced poor learning efficiency (Yerkes & Dodson, 1908).”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Yerkes & Dodson, 1908
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In the paper
“W-scores are obtained based on item response theory, and all scores have equal measurement intervals.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Study 1 > Methods
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In the paper
“SEM with interchangeable dyads was preferred over multiple regression because the former approach was more flexible, such that it is possible to analyze data from both siblings within the same family together to enhance statistical power while controlling for biased standard errors arising from sibling non-independence at the same time (Olsen & Kenny, 2006).”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Olsen & Kenny, 2006
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In the paper
“The Dots Task captures individual differences in the approximate number system. It measures individual’s ability to represent numerical quantities nonverbally (Halberda, Mazzocco, & Feigenson, 2008).”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Study 1 > Methods
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Halberda, Mazzocco, & Feigenson, 2008
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In the paper
“Most variables were distributed normally, with the exception of Dots task, Number-Line task, and Problem Verification task.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“At the behavioral level, a moderate level of anxiety is believed to heighten alertness and focused attention, which facilitates complex cognitive functioning, whereas high anxiety impairs performance by diverting resources away from cognitive performance.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Andreano & Cahill, 2006
- Not checked yetcites Aston-Jones, Rajkowski, & Cohen, 2000
- Not checked yetcites Mendl, 1999
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In the paper
“The Applied Problems subtest of the Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Achievement (Woodcock et al., 2001) measures participant’s ability to integrate math knowledge, quantitative reasoning, and calculation skills in problem solving.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Study 1 > Methods
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Woodcock et al., 2001
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In the paper
“The Cronbach’s α for this scale is .78, indicating adequate internal consistency.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Study 1 > Methods
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What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“This scale has adequate internal consistency with a Cronbach’s α of .94.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Study 2 (Replication Study) > Methods
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In the paper
“is consistent with contemporary fMRI research that highlights the links between brain activations involved in motivating behaviors and cognitive control in improving performance in math anxious adults”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Lyons & Beilock, 2012
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A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Consistent with our hypothesis, an inverted-U relation between MA and math performance was observed in students who are more intrinsically motivated in math, whereas a negative linear relation was observed in those who are less motivated.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Discussion
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In the paper
“The Cronbach’s α for this scale is .82, indicating adequate internal consistency.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Study 2 (Replication Study) > Methods
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In the paper
“The MARS-B has good internal consistency with a Cronbach’s α of .94.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Study 2 (Replication Study) > Methods
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In the paper
“The findings were consistent with results from Study 1.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“All main study variables were distributed widely and normally across their respective scales.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Results
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In the paper
“we chose to focus on the 24 hard items which had wider performance variability (mean accuracy = .85, SD = .13), and was therefore a more proper measure of individual differences in math calculation fluency in college students.”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Study 2 (Replication Study) > Methods
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Eighteen participants were excluded from the analyses due to either technical problems (2) or random responses (16).”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Study 2 (Replication Study) > Methods
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedn = 18Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“The general cognitive literature has shown that moderate levels of anxiety help enhance focused attention and working memory whereas extremely high or low levels of anxiety are associated with insufficient cognitive resources allocated to the tasks”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Arnsten, 2009
- Not checked yetcites Diamond et al., 2007
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Importantly, this pattern was observed in the four math tasks that required generating or evaluating number combinations (i.e., CDNT, PVT, Calculations, Applied Problems), but not in the symbolic or nonsymbolic number estimation tasks (i.e., the Dots and the Number-Line tasks).”
§ Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation > Discussion
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“For example, in some situations, moderate levels of stress can enhance learning by way of increasing attentional vigilance [29].”
From The neuroscience of emotion regulation development: Implications for education (2016) · cites this paper as [29]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
Study 2 sex coefficient conflicts with its interpretation
MinorSex is coded 0 for female and 1 for male. A negative coefficient for sex therefore indicates lower predicted performance for males, not that males performed better.
“Overall, age and sex both negatively predicted task performance, indicating that younger and male participants performed better on average, with a larger effect size for the latter.”
“Sex (0 = female, 1 = male) was positively associated with performance on the Problem Verification task and was negatively correlated with MA.”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Wang, Z., Lukowski, S. L., Hart, S. A., Lyons, I. M., Thompson, L. A., Kovas, Y., Mazzocco, M. M. M., Plomin, R., & Petrill, S. A.
- Affiliations
- Virginia Tech (US)
- The Ohio State University (US)
- Florida State University (US)
- Western University (CA)
- Case Western Reserve University (US)
- King's College London (GB)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- Corresponding author
- Wang, Zhe
- ORCID
- Venue
- Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2015-10-30
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1863-1876
- ISSN
- 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9280
- PMC
- PMC4679544
- OpenAlex
- W2262152752
- Cited by
- 225
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 7
- FWCI
- 18.58
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD038075, R01HD068728, R01HD059215, R01HD038075, R24HD075460, HD075460, HD059215)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills
- Social Sciences › Education › Mathematics Education and Pedagogy
- Keywords
- mathematics anxiety, math motivation, intrinsic motivation, mathematics achievement, curvilinear relationship, inverted U-shaped relationship, numerical estimation, non-symbolic number processing, symbolic number processing, emotion-cognition interaction, mathematics learning, adolescents, university students
- MeSH terms
- Achievement, Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety, Child, Emotions, Female, Humans, Male, Mathematics, Problem Solving, Regression Analysis, Students, Comprehension, Young Adult
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