Does anxiety explain why math-anxious people underperform in math?

Math-anxious people consistently underperform in math. The dominant explanation is that when faced with math, math-anxious individuals experience heightened in-the-moment (state) anxiety that interferes with performance, yet this mechanism has not been directly tested. Using self-report and physiological indices, the study directly tests how much in-the-moment anxiety explains math-anxious underperformance. Results show that in-the-moment anxiety explains the underperformance, but only partially, indicating additional mechanisms. Moreover, highly math-anxious individuals with high heart rate variability (HF-HRV) reported less in-the-moment anxiety but did not perform better, implying alternative pathways for underperformance. Findings highlight substantial individual heterogeneity in mechanisms underlying math-anxious underperformance and suggest tailoring interventions to this heterogeneity.

Richard J. Daker, Sylvia U. Gattas, Elizabeth A. Necka, Adam E. Green, Ian M. Lyons