Patterns of neural activity in math anxious students during a math test

Math specific anxiety is thought of as a performance-based anxiety, in which increased arousal and negative thoughts inhibit performance on mathematics assessments (Ashcraft & Kirk, 2001; Dew, Galassi, & Galassi, 1984; Levine, 1995). Mathematics anxiety interferes with the manipulation of numbers and the solving of mathematical problems in a wide variety of life and academic situations. When anxiety arises during stressful math tasks, students have difficulty sustaining attention and might feel restless, experience frustration about feeling “stuck” on one part of a test, and they might begin to disengage from the task because they feel they won’t succeed (Pekrun, 2006). This project will attempt to gain a comprehensive understanding of the neural mechanisms that drive this phenomenon. The research questions will address whether students with high anxiety and fear of mathematics demonstrate different patterns of processing in the brain during a mathematics test. The findings from this project will inform future research in the cognitive and neural processes involved in mathematics learning for students who experience mathematics anxiety. Understanding the neural processes that drive mathematics learning will help researchers develop intervention strategies that can be used in the classroom when negative emotions arise surrounding mathematics learning and achievement.

Faculty Supervisor:

Earl Woodruff

Student:

Partner:

Zhejiang University

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Toronto

Program: