The Effect of Mathematics Anxiety on Math Performance

Source abstract

Mathematics anxiety has long been a hotly debated topic of research in education and psychology, and studies have confirmed the prevalence of mathematics anxiety among learners of different ages and its impact on learners’ mathematics performance. This literature review attempted to organize the discuss two research points under the topic of mathematics anxiety. The first part focuses on analyzing the mediating factors between mathematics anxiety and outcomes in order to clarify the mediators of their effects and the process of mediation. The second part is related to the differences of mathematics anxiety in different age groups and describes the causes of mathematics anxiety in different groups to provide strategies for learners to improve their mathematics performance and directions for educators to improve their teaching. Based on these arguments, a foundation for subsequent research on math anxiety is provided. However, more empirical studies are needed to justify the findings and hypotheses.