Does math give you the cold sweats? Western study confirms you're not alone
CBC News | Posted: February 14, 2022 10:00 AM | Last Updated: February 14, 2022
Study found math anxiety can affect classmates' success as well
If the thought of having to do math fills you with dread, you're not alone.
A study from researchers at Western University's department of psychology looked at public data from over a million students worldwide and found math anxiety is widespread and can be associated with lower math achievement.
Researchers say math anxiety often presents similarly to general anxiety.
"Sweaty palms, or you have butterflies in your stomach, to a very strong aversion to math," said Nathan Lau, a postdoctoral researcher with Western's department of psychology.
Lau said math anxiety could also present in the form of intrusive thoughts and self-doubt, which ultimately reinforce feelings of anxiety.
"This is problematic because these thoughts actually take up cognitive resources, and these resources would be better used to complete the math questions in front of you," said Lau. "This is sort of like a vicious cycle."
Doesn't guarantee poor outcomes
The study showed that anxiety about math influences the success of the person experiencing it, but it can affect the success of classmates as well.
"It's very important for teachers and policymakers to be mindful of that, and to see whether or not there are variables that we can change in this environment that they're studying and that can help children study better," said Lau.
Lau said a more structured approach to teaching math might be helpful in reducing math anxiety among students but emphasized just because someone is struggling with math anxiety, it doesn't mean they're guaranteed to struggle with math in general.
"The relationship is not that strong," said Lau. "If I have math anxiety, it doesn't mean that I can't do math or I won't do math, it's just that I have this emotional feeling attached to it."