Task features change the relation between math anxiety and number line estimation performance with rational numbers: Two large-scale online studies.

Math performance is negatively related to math anxiety (MA), though MA may impact certain math skills more than others. We investigated whether the relation between MA and math performance is affected by task features, such as number type (e.g., fractions, whole numbers, percentages), number format (symbolic vs. nonsymbolic), and ratio component size (small vs. large). Across two large-scale studies (combined n = 3,822), the MA-performance relation was strongest for large whole numbers and fractions, and stronger for symbolic than nonsymbolic fractions. The MA-performance relation was also stronger for smaller relative to larger components, and MA relating to specific number types may be a better predictor of performance than general MA for certain tasks. The relation between MA and estimation performance changes depending on task features, which suggests that MA may relate to certain math skills more than others, which may have implications for how people reason with numerical information and may inform future interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

• Publication year

  2023

• Venue

  Journal of experimental psychology. General

• Publication date

  2023-04-20

• Fields of study

  Mathematics, Medicine, Psychology

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1037/xge0001382PMID 37079830PMCID PMC10293051
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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