MATHEMATICAL ANXIETY 1

Mathematical Anxiety: A Vicious Cycle with Multidimensional Variables

Megan Jones

Missouri Southern State University

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Abstract

Mathematics anxiety effects student of all ages and even continues

throughout adulthood. It is a serious issue that is rapidly growing in the

United States and is causing alarm that this anxiety is affecting the economy

and the future of the students. Teacher and parents alike both have to

contribute to fighting this anxiety attack.

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Mathematical Anxiety: A Vicious Cycle with Multidimensional Variables

Does the title of this paper scare you? Did the words multidimensional

and variable seem like mathematical jargon and release sweat across your

brow and tighten your stomach? If so, you might be a victim of

mathematical anxiety. This paper will give insight about what mathematical

anxiety is, who is effected by it, the consequences of this issue, and how

teachers and individuals can help put this vicious cycle to an end.

Mathematical anxiety can be mild to severe; however, it should not be

confused with dyscalculia, a neurological based disorder of math, which is in

fact a learning disability. Around 6% of school-aged children have

dyscalculia; it is as common as a reading disorder (Wadlington &

Wadlington, 2008) but unfortunately is overlooked too many times. In

Wadligton and Wadlington (2008) stated, “many people have problems with

mathematics. Because these people often have great strengths in other

areas, their mathematical difficulties tend to be unexpected or ignored” (p.

2).

According to Ertekin, Dilmac, and Yazici (2009), “anxiety is a state of

arousal that surfaces through bodily, emotional, and mental changes an

individual experiences when faced a stimulus” (p. 1189). Many symptoms

include but are not limited to the feelings of helplessness, panic, difficult

breathing, shame, inability to cope, sweaty palms, nervous stomach, loss of

concentration (Malinsky, Ross, Pannells, & McJunkin, 2006). Other

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symptoms include tension, nervousness, worrying, edginess, impatience,

confusion, fear, and developing a mental block (Thilmany, 2009). There are

two main focuses of mathematical anxiety. Specific mathematical anxiety is

when a person is anxious about a particular math situation, such as being

fearful of fractions. Global mathematical anxiety is when a person is

stressed in all mathematical situations regardless of type of problem

(Wadlington & Wadlington, 2008).

Mathematical anxiety is not something a person is born with, like

dyscalculia. People who believe that they are not good at mathematics

develop a fearful avoidance of mathematical situations; this has taken the

title of math anxiety. Mathematical anxiety is a cycle that has to be stopped

before it spins out of control. It starts with a person who feels as if they are

going to fail with math, which builds anxiety, which then leads to failure.

Their failure fosters the idea that they are not good at math which then

creates even more anxiety, creating more failure (Wadlington & Wadlington,

2008).

Anxiety is not innate but is acquired and developed (Ertekin et al.,

2009). The influences that develop mathematical anxiety incorporate

several different variables. Math is part of a person’s environment from an

early age. Parents who fear math can also pass on the negative attitude

towards their children. Many elementary teachers have math anxiety and

are uncomfortable teaching math; this negative attitude then is also passed
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on to influential students (Geist, 2010). Other variables effecting the

development of a student’s mathematical anxiety can also include gender

stereotypes, socioeconomic issues (Kesici & ErdoGan, 2010), shyness and

personality (Woodard, 2004), other learning disabilities (Wadlington &

Wadlington, 2008), memory and thought process (Prevatt, Wells, & Li, 2010),

learning styles, teaching styles, and the motivation of the student; anxiety is

an outcome of an attitude (Ertekin et al., 2009).

Mathematics is a universal language; it uses symbols and its terms

have different definitions than if they were used in a setting that was not

math related. Because math is so unique, individuals who have another

learning disability will usually also develop math anxiety. A student who is

diagnosed with dyslexia or disgraphia might also develop difficulties when

faced with a mathematical situation (Wadlington & Wadlington, 2008).

Mathematics is similar to writing, in the sense that there is a process,

procedures, steps, and a sequence to follow. If a student cannot express his

or her understanding in linear thoughts the student then becomes frustrated

and math anxiety will stem from his or her reading disability. Because other

learning disabilities are easier to diagnose several students will never be

treated or properly taught how to over come their anxiety. It is more difficult

for students with mathematics anxiety to meet the high expectations of

today’s society.

Math anxiety effects and overwhelming part of the population, Jean

Thilmany (2009) stated that 60% of university students in her study have
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had or currently have math anxiety. This negative attitude about math is

becoming a growing problem and barrier for the proper development of

many individuals. Females are socialized to dislike math, and even if they

are good at math, many female students will fall under the pressure of their

peers to believe that all women are not good in mathematical situations.

Most girls do not develop a math anxiety until around the fourth grade. The

National Assessment of Educational Progress shows that fourth grade girls

actually out perform boys on the math portion of the test; these scores

however disappear and fall behind by the eighth grade. Girls are thought to

only be good at math because of their hard work, while boys are good at

math because they are talented (Geist, 2010). Universally, girls and boys

are equally as good at math but stereotypes feed into the myth that females

and numbers should not be mixed. In actuality, boys do better

mathematically simply because they have higher levels of confidence

(Walton, 2010).

Typically students with lower or negative self-esteem will have higher

levels of anxiety (Kesici & ErdoGan, 2010). In middle school, students will

usually begin to compare themselves to other students and individuals in

society. What students do not realize is that in math, they cannot compare

themselves to other persons but need to focus on personal growth and

development (Kesici & ErdoGan, 2010).

Mathematical anxiety does not just effect the poor, the rich, the ones

with low self-esteem, but it can also play a major role in the lives of gifted
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students. Gifted students are often considered or categorized as

perfectionists. A perfectionist is a person who not only holds himself to high

standards but also is overly critical when doing self-evaluations. Because

gifted students are perceived to be highly intelligent, it is hard for them to be

diagnosed with a math anxiety. In a study of how timed and untimed math

tests affect gifted student Tsui and Mazzocco (2007) discovered that when

math anxiety increases the discrepancy in math performance decreases.

Timed tests provokes anxiety in high and low performing students but when

a student is given an untimed test the students with higher math anxiety

take longer than when given a timed test. Most students with mathematical

anxiety use avoidance as their coping mechanism. If a student with anxiety

is faced with a timed test he or she will try to solve the problems as quickly

as possible and fail to use the self-correction tool of ‘checking’ which then

also leads to more errors which then resets the cycle of anxiety and failure

(Legg & Locker, 2009).

Learning style is another major variable that affects the development

of math anxiety. Boys tend to be able to adapt better to traditional teaching

methods (Geist, 2010) because of this skill, boys are not as apt to fear math,

like a girl student would. When a teacher’s style of learning does not match

with the student’s learning style it can become a major factor in developing

math anxiety, especially for young female students. When learning and

teaching styles are aligned, there are exuberant amounts of positive

progress in learning math (Ertekin et al., 2009).

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The United States’ culture as a whole holds a negative attitude that

fosters math anxiety in students. The three myths about math: math is

thought to be inherently difficult, aptitude is far more important than effort,

and being good at math is unimportant or even optional are concepts that

are taught in the schools whether they are intentional or not (Ashcraft,

2002). These myths are slowly destroying the United States’ culture and are

depleting the chances of the country remaining as a power country in this

global society. Teaching generations how to master thinking and reasoning

skills, such as those used in math, will put globally sound countries ahead of

the others (Ertekin et al., 2009).

As mathematical anxiety continues to grow rampantly, it is evident

that there will be consequences. It is not a surprise that those with a math

anxiety avoid careers and college courses that incorporate large or ‘difficult’

mathematical topics (Ashcraft, 2002). Mathematics disabilities and anxiety

play a key role in the drop out rate of students (Prevatt et al., 2010). The

students who have dropped out tend to have a lower paying job, and when

these drop out students give birth to other children, the children will then

grow up in the environment that does not like, use, or understand math,

embedding the negative attitude that math is hard and worthless; starting

the cycle of anxiety at an early age. Thilmany’s (2009) research of

university students stated that health science majors feared math the most

and students would chose a field of study due to the amount of math needed

to complete such degree.

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When compared to other countries the United States continues to fall

behind with their math scores. Anxiety leads to decreased amounts of

motivation, which then in turn encourages the student to take less math

classes. Fewer math classes then lead to less exposure, and the exposure is

at a lower level. These lower level classes then produce lower scores and

the gap between what is expected of students and what they are actually

scoring on their math test widens considerably (Ashcraft, 2002). Timed tests

are also a negative towards helping students over come their math anxiety.

High-stakes standardized tests, such as the MAP, are timed which then

create more anxiety that lead to inaccurate scores.

Unfortunately teachers can also do more harm than good when it

comes to mathematical anxiety. As Eugene Giest (2010) believed for the

western culture to overcome math anxiety that teachers and how students

are taught needs to be examined and reexamined. Many teachers do not

have the experience that is required to help mainstream students with

mathematical difficulties and some teachers lack the confidence to even

perform decent instruction (Wadlington & Wadlington, 2008). Marci

Malinsky and colleagues (2006) stated, “math anxiety has its roots in

teaching and teachers, and has been tied to poor academic performance of

students, as well as to the effectiveness of elementary teachers” (p. 274).

Marsha Walton (2010) agrees that math anxiety is taught in the classroom.

Elementary education majors have the highest rate of math anxiety than any

other college major; the fact is that 90% of elementary teachers are female
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in the United States; this imposes a problem on defeating math anxiety as a

whole. Female elementary teachers who taught first and second grade who

displayed high math anxiety had girls with lower scores in math than boys by

the end of the year (Walton, 2010).

Girls need a visible female role model who excels in math to help them

overcome the anxiety and stereotype that math and women do not go hand

in hand. Mothers also have an important impact of preventing math anxiety;

if students see their mothers not ‘caring’ about math, the girls will develop

the idea that it is not necessary to learn. Teachers also need to help

demonstrate that being smart and glamorous is possible. It needs to be

taught to middle school girls that math makes you feel smarter, prepares

you for the better paying jobs, and helps you think more logically (Walton,

2010).

When it comes to treatment, it is like being blind trying to find a needle

in a haystack. Treatment is rather difficult because most students are not

ever properly diagnosed. Because math anxiety is not a disability, but

rather a thought process; students and people need to learn how to

overcome the anxiety using everyday tools and concepts. Teachers can do

the following to help individuals overcome math anxiety: provide a safe

classroom environment where grades are not mentioned, use visual cues

that help stimulate the understanding process of math, chart progress of

students to help encourage and motivate, give out frequent praise, discuss

famous people with disabilities, let students know they are not alone, and
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incorporate math games into the curriculum, seat students towards the front,

provide appropriate test, allow extra time for assignments and tests, keep a

mathematical journal, and maintain a positive outlook on math, make word

problems applicable to real life situations, teach how to properly read and

solve word problems (Wadlington & Wadlington, 2008).

Mathematical anxiety is not something that should be ignored or

avoided. It is a serious issue that continues to increase. The vicious cycle of

failure and anxiety has to come to a halt at some point if the United States

wants to continue to be a forerunner in the industrialized global economy.

Parents and teachers alike are the main sources of the cause but also the

treatment for this challenging and unexpected disability. Without the help of

parents and schools this cycle will continue to produce individuals, who are

capable, but simply lack basic math skills leading to serious consequences in

both daily and work life.

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References

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consequences.

Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11(5), 181-185.

Ertekin, E., Dilmac, B., & Yazici, E. (2009). The relationship between

mathematics anxiety

and learning styles of preserves mathematics teachers. Social

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Geist, E. (2010). The anti-anxiety curriculum: Combating math anxiety in the

classroom.

Journal of Instructional Psychology, 37, 24-31.

Kesici, S., & ErdoGan, A. (2010). Mathematics anxiety according to middle

school students’

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Legg, A. M., & Locker Jr., L. (2009). Math performance and its relationship to

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485.

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elementary school teachers. Education, 127(2), 274-279.

Prevatt, F., Wells, T. L., & Li, H. (2010). The contribution of memory and
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anxiety to the math

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