2025 Theses Doctoral

Where Did the Time Go? Math Anxiety, Processing Speed, and Their Impact on Speeded Math Performance

Fitzgerald, Katie

The correlation between math anxiety (MA) and math performance (MP) has received increased attention, but prior research has been inconsistent or insufficient to provide meaningful insight into why the two are associated. This study aimed to identify if the MA-MP association is stronger on timed versus untimed measures; if within this association, processing speed plays a mediating role; whether gender acts as a predictor of MP and moderates the MA-MP association; and finally, whether MA predicts MP over and above generalized anxiety. The study sample comprised of archival data from 474 8–13-year-old participants from the Healthy Brain Network and used results from cognitive and academic standardized testing and ratings on anxiety scale questionnaires.

Results showed a measurable negative association between MA and MP across timed and untimed math tasks. This association was most significant for tasks requiring applied problem-solving skills compared to math fluency tasks, and processing speed was not found to have a significant mediating effect, as was hypothesized. Significant gender differences were found, with females experiencing more math anxiety; this anxiety was also found to more significantly relate to their performance on math tasks. Furthermore, math-specific anxiety was found to predict math performance over and above generalized anxiety. Interventions should focus on identifying and reducing math anxiety, with special consideration given to gender differences and the context in which math tasks are presented.