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Pelegrina S, Martín-Puga ME, Lechuga MT, Justicia-Galiano MJ, Linares R. Role of executive functions in the relations of state- and trait-math anxiety with math performance. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2024; 1535:76-91. [PMID: 38598473 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.15140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
The detrimental effect of math anxiety on math performance is thought to be mediated by executive functions. Previous studies have primarily focused on trait-math anxiety rather than state-math anxiety and have typically examined a single executive function rather than comprehensively evaluating all of them. Here, we used a structural equation modeling approach to concurrently determine the potential mediating roles of different executive functions (i.e., inhibition, switching, and updating) in the relationships between both state- and trait-math anxiety and math performance. A battery of computer-based tasks and questionnaires were administered to 205 university students. Two relevant results emerged. First, confirmatory factor analysis suggests that math anxiety encompassed both trait and state dimensions and, although they share substantial variance, trait-math anxiety predicted math performance over and above state-math anxiety. Second, working memory updating was the only executive function that mediated the relationship between math anxiety and math performance; neither inhibition nor switching played mediating roles. This calls into question whether some general proposals about the relationship between anxiety and executive functions can be extended specifically to math anxiety. We also raise the possibility that working memory updating or general cognitive difficulties might precede individual differences in math anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Rocío Linares
- Department of Psychology, University of Jaén, Jaén, Spain
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2
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Commodari E, La Rosa VL. General academic anxiety and math anxiety in primary school. The impact of math anxiety on calculation skills. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2021; 220:103413. [PMID: 34537471 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2020] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Some academic subjects, such as math, produce negative feelings, influencing achievement. Math anxiety interferes with processing math-related or number-related information and tasks in ordinary life and academic situations. It differs from general academic anxiety that involves all the academic situations, independently by the specificity of the study subject. Further, it is possible to identify two correlated dimensions of math anxiety which may considerably interfere with math performance: anxiety related to learning mathematics and that experienced during tests. This study investigated the relationship between general academic anxiety, math anxiety, and calculation skill in schoolchildren (N = 204). Results showed that math anxiety was negatively associated with calculation performance in schoolchildren. More specifically, anxiety for math tests correlated negatively with numerical knowledge, calculation accuracy, and calculation speed, while anxiety for learning math correlated negatively with written calculation scores. These findings have a great educational interest. Indeed, calculation skills are central in school and daily life so teachers should recognize math anxiety precociously and promote educational interventions to control it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Commodari
- Department of Educational Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
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3
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Pizzie RG, Kraemer DJM. The Association Between Emotion Regulation, Physiological Arousal, and Performance in Math Anxiety. Front Psychol 2021; 12:639448. [PMID: 34045991 PMCID: PMC8144633 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.639448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotion regulation (ER) strategies may reduce the negative relationship between math anxiety and mathematics accuracy, but different strategies may differ in their effectiveness. We recorded electrodermal activity (EDA) to examine the effect of physiological arousal on performance during different applied ER strategies. We explored how ER strategies might affect the decreases in accuracy attributed to physiological arousal in high math anxious (HMA) individuals. Participants were instructed to use cognitive reappraisal (CR), expressive suppression (ES), or a “business as usual” strategy. During the ES condition, HMA individuals showed decreases in math accuracy associated with increased EDA, compared to low math anxious (LMA) individuals. For both HMA and LMA groups, CR reduced the association between physiological arousal and math accuracy, such that even elevated physiological arousal levels no longer had a negative association with math accuracy. These results show that CR provides a promising technique for ameliorating the negative relationship between math anxiety and math accuracy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel G Pizzie
- Educational Neuroscience Program, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC, United States.,Department of Education, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States.,Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
| | - David J M Kraemer
- Department of Education, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States.,Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
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5
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Hubbard NA, Siless V, Frosch IR, Goncalves M, Lo N, Wang J, Bauer CCC, Conroy K, Cosby E, Hay A, Jones R, Pinaire M, Vaz De Souza F, Vergara G, Ghosh S, Henin A, Hirshfeld-Becker DR, Hofmann SG, Rosso IM, Auerbach RP, Pizzagalli DA, Yendiki A, Gabrieli JDE, Whitfield-Gabrieli S. Brain function and clinical characterization in the Boston adolescent neuroimaging of depression and anxiety study. Neuroimage Clin 2020; 27:102240. [PMID: 32361633 PMCID: PMC7199015 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2019] [Revised: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
We present a Human Connectome Project study tailored toward adolescent anxiety and depression. This study is one of the first studies of the Connectomes Related to Human Diseases initiative and is collecting structural, functional, and diffusion-weighted brain imaging data from up to 225 adolescents (ages 14-17 years), 150 of whom are expected to have a current diagnosis of an anxiety and/or depressive disorder. Comprehensive clinical and neuropsychological evaluations and longitudinal clinical data are also being collected. This article provides an overview of task functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) protocols and preliminary findings (N = 140), as well as clinical and neuropsychological characterization of adolescents. Data collection is ongoing for an additional 85 adolescents, most of whom are expected to have a diagnosis of an anxiety and/or depressive disorder. Data from the first 140 adolescents are projected for public release through the National Institutes of Health Data Archive (NDA) with the timing of this manuscript. All other data will be made publicly-available through the NDA at regularly scheduled intervals. This article is intended to serve as an introduction to this project as well as a reference for those seeking to clinical, neurocognitive, and task fMRI data from this public resource.
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Affiliation(s)
- N A Hubbard
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, United States
| | - V Siless
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - I R Frosch
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - M Goncalves
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - N Lo
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - J Wang
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - C C C Bauer
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - K Conroy
- Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - E Cosby
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - A Hay
- Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - R Jones
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - M Pinaire
- Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - F Vaz De Souza
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - G Vergara
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - S Ghosh
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - A Henin
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - D R Hirshfeld-Becker
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - S G Hofmann
- Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - I M Rosso
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - R P Auerbach
- Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - D A Pizzagalli
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - A Yendiki
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - J D E Gabrieli
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - S Whitfield-Gabrieli
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States.
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Plancher G, Massol S, Dorel T, Chainay H. Effect of negative emotional content on attentional maintenance in working memory. Cogn Emot 2018; 33:1489-1496. [PMID: 30584794 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2018.1561420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Previous research has shown that emotional stimuli may interfere with working memory (WM) processes, but little is known about the process affected. Using a complex span task, the present study investigated the influence of processing negative emotional content on attentional maintenance in WM. In two experiments conducted under articulatory suppression, participants were asked to remember a series of five letters, each of which was followed by an image to be categorised. In half of the trials, the images were negative and in the other half, they were neutral. In both experiments, our results showed longer processing times for emotional stimuli than neutral stimuli, and lower memory performance when participants processed negative stimuli. We propose that emotional stimuli direct more attentional resources towards the processing component of the WM task, thereby reducing the storage capacity available for the items that are to be remembered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaën Plancher
- a Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lyon 2 , Bron , France
| | - Sarah Massol
- a Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lyon 2 , Bron , France
| | - Tiphaine Dorel
- a Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lyon 2 , Bron , France
| | - Hanna Chainay
- a Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lyon 2 , Bron , France
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Rubinsten O, Marciano H, Eidlin Levy H, Daches Cohen L. A Framework for Studying the Heterogeneity of Risk Factors in Math Anxiety. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:291. [PMID: 30559654 PMCID: PMC6286963 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2018] [Accepted: 11/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Math anxiety is a prevalent disorder which affects many people worldwide. Here, we draw together ample evidence to suggest a dynamic developmental bio-psycho-social model. The model highlights the complex pathways towards the development of math anxiety, with a focus on dynamism. That is, math anxiety is viewed here as a dynamic interplay between environmental (parenting style, as well as social style including teachers' attitude, instruction strategies and wider social effects) and intrinsic factors (i.e., neuro-cognitive and genetic predispositions, including brain malfunctions, heritability, predisposition towards general anxiety) and basic numerical cognition and affective factors. The model predicts that the dynamic interplay between these factors can either prevent or promote math anxiety's effects on the development of heterogeneous symptoms. Considering the universal nature of math anxiety, a systematic description of the vulnerability factors that contribute to the development of math anxiety is vital. Such information may be of particular value in informing the design of preventive interventions as well as of specific intervention tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Orly Rubinsten
- Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Hadas Marciano
- Department of Psychology, Tel Hai College, Kiryat-Shmona, Israel
- Ergonomics and Human Factors Unit, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Hili Eidlin Levy
- Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Lital Daches Cohen
- Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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