Mathematics Anxiety: What is Known and What is still to be Understood

Feelings of apprehension and fear brought on by mathematical performance can affect correct mathematical application and can influence the achievement and future paths of individuals affected by it. In recent years, math anxiety has become a subject of increasing interest both in educational and clinical settings. This ground-breaking collection presents theoretical, educational and psychophysiological perspectives on the widespread phenomenon of mathematics anxiety.

Featuring contributions from leading international researchers, Mathematics Anxiety challenges preconceptions and clarifies several crucial areas of research, such as the distinction between math anxiety from other forms of anxiety (i.e., general or test anxiety); the ways in which math anxiety has been assessed (e.g., throughout self-report questionnaires or psychophysiological measures); the need to clarify the direction of the relationship between math anxiety and mathematics achievement (which causes which).

Offering a re-evaluation of the negative connotations usually associated with math anxiety and prompting avenues for future research, this book will be invaluable to academics and students in the psychological and educational sciences, as well as teachers working with students who are struggling with math anxiety.

Irene C. Mammarella is Associate Professor at the University of Padova, Italy. Her research interests include the role of working memory and emotional aspects in specific learning disorders, and other neurodevelopmental disorders. She is the cofounder of a clinical university centre for neurodevelopmental disorders (LabDA srl) and coauthored the book Nonverbal learning disabilities (Guilford Press, 2016).

Sara Caviola is a Lecturer in Developmental Psychology, at the School of Psychology, University of Leeds, UK. She won a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship and spent two years at the Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge. Her main interests include analyses of cognitive and emotional underpinnings of mathematical cognition, in both children and adult populations.

Ann Dowker is University Research Lecturer at the Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, UK. She has edited and coedited several books, and is the author of Individual Differences in Arithmetic: Implications for Psychology, Neuroscience and Education (Psychology Press, 2005; second edition to be published in 2019). She is the lead researcher on the Catch Up Numeracy intervention project.