Date of Award
2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Psychology
Committee Chair
Jodi Price
Committee Member
Aurora Torres
Committee Member
Jeffrey Neuschatz
Subject(s)
Math anxiety, Problem solving--Ability testing, Mathematics--Study and teaching--Psychological aspects
Abstract
Past research demonstrated that a variety of factors contribute to the severity of math anxiety and its detriments on math performance. The present study examined the influence of performance pressure, sex, second-hand success or failure of a male or female, and problem difficulty on math anxiety and performance. The design included a 2 (Participant sex: male, female) x 2 (Student actor sex: male, female) x 2 (Video outcome: success, failure) x 2 (Problem difficulty: easy, difficult) x 2 (Pressure: low, high) mixed design. Participants (UAH students, n = 232) were recruited from introductory psychology courses and completed the study via Qualtrics. The pressure manipulation was found to be ineffective. Participants’ math anxiety and performance were most influenced when watching a male fail at solving problems. These results could be used to mitigate the influence of stereotypes on math anxiety and performance in education.
Recommended Citation
Duthie, Michael G., "Math anxiety and performance following observational learning and performance pressure" (2022). Theses. 376.
https://louis.uah.edu/uah-theses/376