The Relationship Between Math Anxiety and Math Performance: A Meta-Analytic Investigation

Abstract

Math anxiety (MA) has been suggested to decrease the math performance of students. However, it remains unclear what factors moderate this relationship. The aim of this research was to explore the link between MA and math performance. Studies that explored the math anxiety-performance link, conducted from 2000 to 2019 (84 samples, N = 8680), were identified and statistically integrated with a meta-analysis method. The results indicated a robust negative math anxiety-performance link. Furthermore, regarding the analysis of moderator variables, this negative link was stronger in the studies that involved Asian students, but this link was the weakest in the studies that involved European students. Moreover, this negative link was stronger in the studies within a senior high school group, whereas it was the weakest in the studies within an elementary group. Finally, this negative link was strongest among studies that used a custom test and studies that assessed problem-solving skills. Potential explanations and implications for research and practice are discussed.

Math anxiety and math achievement: The effects of emotional and math strategy training

“…However, recent studies point to the early onset of MA (Cargnelutti, Tomasetto, & Passolunghi, 2017; Ramirez, Gunderson, Levine, & Beilock, 2013; Vukovic, Kieffer, Bailey, & Harari, 2013; Wu, Amin, Barth, Malcarne, & Menon, 2012; Wu, Willcutt, Escovar, & Menon, 2014). The most recent meta‐analytic investigations by Namkung et al (2019) and Zhang, Zhao, and Kong (2019), which include a larger number of studies with primary school children, seem indeed to confirm a significant negative correlation between MA and mathematics performance ( r = −.34 and r = −.32, respectively), in line with the two previous meta‐analytic studies. Cognitive and emotional problems underlying math difficulties, however, could be largely dissociable.…”

The Influence of Independent Learning and Structure Sense Ability on Mathematics Connection in Abstract Algebra

“…The result shows the medium category. Then, Zhang et al, [10] conducted another study related to the relationship of mathematical anxiety (MA) on mathematical performance. The result shows that middle school students in Asian countries have stronger negative mathematics anxiety than European students.…”

Editorial: Individual Differences in Arithmetical Development

“…(Dehaene, 1997 p. 225) pointed out that, even when studying the neural aspects of mathematics, it is important to take emotional factors into account: “…cerebral function is not confined to the cold transformation of information according to logical rules. If we are to understand how mathematics can become the subject of so much passion or hatred, we have to grant as much attention to the computations of emotion as to the syntax of reason.” In particular, mathematics anxiety, sometimes amounting to real fear of mathematics is a very common phenomenon and is significantly negatively correlated with mathematical performance (Hembree, 1990; Ma and Kishor, 1997; Carey et al, 2016; Dowker et al, 2016; Foley et al, 2017; Sorvo et al, 2017; Zhang and Kong, 2019).…”