Many people are afraid of math. Where did this fear come from and how to deal with it

Anxiety is usually called the tendency to experience frequent anxiety for any reason. Anxiety is common - a person suffering from such a condition can worry about anything: from the thought that the stove after cooking the morning porridge has remained on and now the apartment will probably burn out in the absence of the owners, to the point of fear of entering the metro. Anxiety can also be private: in this case, a constant state of anxiety in a person causes only a certain set of triggers, for example, public transport, social interaction, or even mathematics and everything connected with it.

Meanwhile, the wicked queen …

Before they began to be afraid of mathematics, people were afraid of numbers: for the first time, the hypothesis that "number anxiety" can be separated from general anxiety was put forward in 1957 by American psychologists Ralph Dreger and Lewis Aiken … In their study, about 700 students from Florida State University were asked to complete an anxiety survey that added three questions about numbers and mathematics.

After studying the students' responses, the researchers found that a) the presence of "numerical anxiety" does not correlate with general anxiety, b) numerical anxiety is a factor that exists separately from general anxiety, and c) the presence of numerical anxiety is associated with poor performance in mathematics (in this case - it is worth noting this again - this indicator was not connected in any way with the level of intelligence).

The first standardized test for determining mathematical anxiety was developed almost two decades later: in 1972, American psychologists Frank Richardson and Richard Suinn introduced the Mathematic Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS for short).). They were also the first to formulate the definition of mathematical anxiety: "a feeling of tension and anxiety associated with the manipulation of numbers and the solution of mathematical problems in ordinary and educational life." Swinn, who previously worked on a psychotherapy method that would allow students to effectively deal with stress on the eve of exams, noticed that anxiety in about a third of students is associated with The Application of Short-Term Video-Tape Therapy for the Treatment of Test Anxiety of College Students. Final Report with mathematics - this was the reason for creating such a test.

The test developed by scientists consisted of 98 points, each of which described a specific situation. For example:

"Imagine trying to add two three-digit numbers when someone is looking over your shoulder."

Or:

"Imagine you have a math exam in an hour."

As you might guess, the situations described in the survey are related to mathematics. Participants in the first study using this test (397 students at a Missouri university) were asked to rate how (on a scale of 1 to 5) the situations described were causing them anxiety.

The average indicator of mathematical anxiety among the study participants was 215.38 points (out of 490 possible). What's more, the researchers found that about 11 percent of students are so worried about math anxiety that they need additional therapy.

The validity of their measurement method Richardson and Swinn subsequently confirmed by studies in which indicators on the anxiety scale fell after counseling during the school year.

The proposed 98-item survey of mathematical anxiety has been repeatedly adapted: in particular, Swinn himself in 2003 proposed to reduce the number of questions to 30 in The Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale, a Brief Version: Psychometric Data. Different variations of MARS (there are even specially adapted versions for schoolchildren of different ages) are still used both in assessing the level of mathematical anxiety by psychologists and teachers, and in scientific research of this phenomenon.

Who is guilty?

Speaking about the causes of mathematical anxiety, it is worth noting first the influence of general anxiety on it. Researchers have repeatedly shown The Nature, Effects, and Relief of Mathematics Anxiety that the correlation coefficient between mathematical anxiety and general anxiety is approximately equal to 0.35. Other studies show the relationship between mathematical and test (exam) anxiety: here the correlation coefficient varies. On the cognitive consequences of mathematics anxiety in the range from 0.3 to 0.5.

The presence of mathematical anxiety is also closely related to the individual ability of a person to solve arithmetic problems - but it is not always clear how exactly.

For example, Mathematics anxiety in children with developmental dyscalculia is predisposed to the manifestation of mathematical anxiety, people with dyscalculia - a developmental disorder, which is expressed in the inability to solve mathematical problems; it is associated with a malfunction of the intra-parietal sulcus, which is responsible for the ability to quantify objects.

However, long-term studies show Reciprocal relationships between math self-concept and math anxiety that it is impossible to determine exactly where the cause and where is the effect, and the relationship between mathematical anxiety and the ability to math is two-way.

Fear of mathematics, on the one hand, significantly affects success in the exact sciences: it is difficult to succeed in something that causes a whole range of negative emotions - from slight awe to animal horror.

On the other hand, academic failure can also affect the appearance of anxiety: poor grades in school, difficulty memorizing even the simplest theorems and formulas - all this causes fear of failure, and ultimately fear of its obvious cause, mathematics.

Numerous studies of the phenomenon of mathematical anxiety also make it possible to single out a certain "risk group", namely, factors that can affect its development. For example, despite the fact that at early school age, both boys and girls perform equally well in mathematics, girls develop mathematical anxiety much more often. On the one hand, psychologists associate Stereotype Threat and Women’s Math Performance such a predisposition with gender stereotypes (or even with the threat of stereotype confirmation); on the other hand, the reason may also be that women in general are more likely to suffer from Gender Differences in Five Factor Model Personality Traits in an Elderly Cohort: Extension of Robust and Surprising Findings to an Older Generation from general anxiety. Addiction, however, can be more complex: for example, a study published in 2009 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed Female teachers 'math anxiety affects girls' math achievement that the development of mathematical anxiety in schoolgirls is influenced by its presence in their math teachers.

Fear of mathematics also depends on age: a meta-analysis of The Nature, Effects, and Relief of Mathematics Anxiety of 151 scientific papers showed that mathematical anxiety begins to develop already in primary school age, reaches its peak in high school and levels off towards graduation.

This trend, in contrast to gender factors, is associated not only with general anxiety (by the onset of adolescence, the risk of developing mental disorders and conditions sharply increases), but also with individual abilities for mathematics. So, at the age of 11, mathematics is called Pupils' views on school work and school from 7 to 16 years as their favorite school subject, much more children than at the age of 16. The reason may be that in high school mathematics in the program becomes more and more, and tasks become much more complicated: rather simple quadratic equations and problems like "from point A to point B at different speeds …" are replaced by limits, matrices and binomial distribution …

Another possible reason for the development of fear of mathematics is cultural factors.

At one time, studies of mathematical anxiety were carried out only in Western countries (or rather, almost exclusively in the States): this made it possible to determine the influence of different teaching methods, gender and age, but all research was limited to the Western educational system.

In recent years, however, interest in cross-cultural research on mathematical anxiety has been growing: for example, comparisons of British and Russian schoolchildren have shown Mathematical anxiety, spatial ability, and mathematical success: a cross-cultural study of primary school children in Russia and the UK that children of two countries do not differ in the level of mathematical anxiety. On the other hand, children from developed Asian countries (for example, Japan and Korea) are more prone to developing mathematical anxiety than schoolchildren from developed European countries (for example, Finland and Switzerland) - and this is with the same academic performance in mathematics. Scientists associate Academic expectations as sources of stress in Asian students with the fact that schoolchildren from Asian countries are exerted more pressure regarding their success and grades, especially in mathematics and other exact sciences.

Mathematical anxiety is also genetically explained. For example, in a paper published by Who is afraid of math? Two sources of genetic variance for mathematical anxiety in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry in 2014, cites the results of a study involving 512 pairs of twins - schoolchildren aged 12 years. The authors found that about 40 percent of mathematical anxiety is attributable to genetic factors, namely, a predisposition to general anxiety, as well as aptitude for mathematics (or the level of "mathematical knowledge"). The rest of the variability in the level of such anxiety is explained by environmental factors, among which (in addition to those already mentioned) may be both the quality of teaching the subject at school and the peculiarities of upbringing (for example, the encouragement of success by parents and teachers).

Of course, people can feel anxious when faced with other school (and not only) subjects: for example, foreign languages (here it is worth mentioning the notorious “language barrier”) or playing musical instruments (and here the role of “stage fright” can play a role).

It is believed, however, that it is mathematics that causes the strongest emotional reaction, more often carries with it negative consequences in the form of anxiety, and is more closely associated with academic failure.

For example, among 9-year-olds, mathematical anxiety is associated with Relationships between 9-Year-Olds' Math and Literacy Worries and Academic Abilities with failures in mathematics, while grammatical anxiety (with regard to literature and languages - foreign or native) does not affect academic success. … This can be facilitated by the dogmatism of mathematics as an academic discipline. A child may be interested in art and literature, draw well or play the violin, but all this does not replenish his mental abilities (in the eyes of parents or teachers, and sometimes his own) as much as successes in mathematics and other exact sciences do.

What to do?

Despite its already rather long research history (more than 60 years have passed since the publication of the work in which "numerical anxiety" was first mentioned), unfortunately, there is still no established method of treating mathematical anxiety.

In 1984, Susan Shodhal and Cleon Diers of Community College in San Bernardino, California launched Math Anxiety in College Students: Sources and Solutions for Mathematics Without Fear. It lasted one semester, and classes were held once a week for two hours; it was led by two teachers: a psychologist and a mathematician. Despite the name, the course was not educational at all, but rather resembled meetings of a psychological support group.

Scientists based their studies on the methods of cognitive-behavioral therapy: students of the course were asked about their mathematical experience, taught not to be afraid of established mathematical myths (for example, the myth that mathematics necessarily requires quick reactions and the highest logical abilities), and also introduced relaxation practices and reflection. The first 40 students to take the course found it helpful, and their level of mathematical anxiety dropped from 311.3 to 213 on the MARS scale.

Psychotherapy (in particular, cognitive-behavioral) quite well helps to deal with both general and partial anxiety, and so far psychologists have considered it as the main method of reducing fear of mathematics. Writing therapy can help - expressing your feelings and emotions in writing: a study published in 2014 in the Journal of Applied Psychology showed that writing such an "essay" before solving math problems significantly increases the performance of The Role of Expressive Writing in Math Anxiety. assignments among students with a high level of mathematical anxiety. Written therapy is also actively used in the fight against exam anxiety, so it can also help with the possible root of mathematical anxiety - the fear of failure.

As for the early manifestations of mathematical anxiety, here, as we have already found out, both the educational atmosphere and the encouragement from parents and teachers play an important role. So, individual lessons with a tutor help to reduce mathematical anxiety: younger students (from 7 to 9 years old) who have completed an intensive eight-week math course under the guidance of personal teachers not only improved Remediation of Childhood Math Anxiety and Associated Neural Circuits through Cognitive Tutoring their knowledge, but and reduced the level of mathematical anxiety.

In addition to a decrease in scores on the scale for measuring such anxiety, the effectiveness of individual lessons was also shown by fMRI data: for eight weeks of lessons, when solving mathematical problems, the activity of the amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for the emotional response (mainly negative: fear or disgust), significantly decreased. With the right approach, one-to-one lessons can develop a love of the subject; in addition, usually tutors do not give grades for homework or control assignments, which significantly reduces the risk of examination anxiety, which causes or accompanies it.

Another possible way to combat mathematical anxiety is non-invasive magnetic and electrical brain stimulation. Such a method, even if it seems very radical at first glance, is capable of quite effectively (and, what is important, safe and painless) influence on the activity of areas of the cerebral cortex.

In addition to stimulating the amygdala, which can reduce activity (and therefore negative emotions) in response to a certain stimulus, scientists also consider the prefrontal cortex as a possible target of stimulation - the bilateral brain region involved in cognitive control (this includes affect control, and hence - and anxiety) and working memory.

Using the method of micropolarization (transcranial direct current stimulation, abbreviated as tDCS), scientists, for example, were able to reduce Cognitive Enhancement or Cognitive Cost: Trait-Specific Outcomes of Brain Stimulation in the Case of Mathematics Anxiety anxiety when solving arithmetic tasks for participants with a high level of mathematical anxiety.

The effectiveness of this method was confirmed by a decrease in the level of cortisol (a hormone produced in response to stress) in their saliva. Finally, magnetic stimulation with random noise (transcranial random noise stimulation, abbreviated as tRNS) improves Transcranial random noise stimulation and cognitive training to improve learning and cognition of the atypically developing brain: A pilot study the mathematical abilities of children who are lagging behind: and success in mathematics is directly related with the appearance of fear of her.

People often get worried when they fail at something - and this is absolutely normal.

The constant manifestation of anxiety due to failure, however, already makes you think about going to a specialist: the stress caused by frequent anxiety can lead to a variety of diseases (for example, diseases of the cardiovascular system) and mental disorders (for example, clinical depression or anxiety disorders).

That is why mathematical anxiety should not be underestimated: it can affect not only school performance and further success in a related field, but also health. Therefore, until a panacea for fear of mathematics has been invented, it is worth getting rid of the problem as early as possible: for this, teachers and parents can develop a child's love for the subject, encourage him for success and not scold him too much for failures, and children - remember that mathematics, even though she is the queen of all sciences, not as terrible as it seems at first glance.