The Impact of Anxiety and Working Memory on Algebraic Reasoning

doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-802218-4.00005-4

Understanding Emotions in Mathematical Thinking and Learning

2017, Pages 133-158

https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-802218-4.00005-4 Get rights and content

Abstract

Math anxiety and working memory (WM) are known to affect math problem-solving abilities; and, indeed, they may affect each other. Currently, however, we understand little about the nature of this interaction or how it might affect math problem solving. In this chapter, we review our own research in which we investigated the relationship between anxiety, WM, and algebraic problem solving. We show that (1) different patterns of anxiety-WM relationships can be identified in high school students, (2) anxiety and WM influence each other iteratively over time, and (3) the nature of stability and/or change in anxiety-WM patterns predict algebraic problem-solving abilities. We conclude by reviewing how emotion (anxiety) and cognition (WM) interact to affect math problem solving. It is evident that much work needs to done is this area to help educators grasp the impact of these interactions on their students math performance.

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Citation Excerpt :
Third, under very high math demands, individuals engage in avoidance, resulting in very fast response times and inaccurate performance (Ashcraft & Faust, 1994). It possible that this “avoidance” behavior only occurs when students with high anxiety solve complex math problems (Trezise & Reeve, 2017). Moreover, given that working memory capacity and age also predicted problem solving abilities, it is possible that individual differences in math anxiety interacts with individual differences in cognitive abilities as well as math task demands, to affect math problem solving abilities.
Math anxiety is associated with avoidance of math in high school. It is commonly assessed using questionnaires that examine anxiety experienced for arithmetic. A more nuanced understanding of math anxiety would be gained by investigating the anxiety associated with math problems encountered in high school at the time they are encountered. To this end, we investigated the anxiety associated with algebraic problem solving in 14-year-olds. We varied problem difficulty and the time allowed to solve problems, and assessed students' anxiety concurrently as they solved problems. In two studies, latent variable mixture modelling revealed meaningfully different patterns of algebra ability and anxiety relationships that changed as a function of problem difficulty and time pressure. The results highlight the value of using latent variable mixture models to identify subgroup patterns of abilities and caution against making overly general claims about the role of anxiety in math problem solving.
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Chapter 5 - The Impact of Anxiety and Working Memory on Algebraic Reasoning

Abstract