Reports on a comparison of the performances of over-achievers, achievers, and under-achievers in mathematics on measures of general anxiety, test anxiety, and mathematics anxiety. The results confirm the hypothesis that the measure of mathematics-specific anxiety differentiates the under-achieving group from the other two groups more strongly than…

Grade, sex, and race information of 1,391 students registered in Introduction to Business Statistics at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga were gathered to investigate sex and race differences in achieving quantitative competencies. Results indicated that females scored significantly higher than males, whereas blacks scored significantly…

Student, teacher, and teaching causes of mathematics anxiety are discussed. Computer-assisted instruction can reduce mathematics anxieties due to lack of confidence, negative attitudes, teacher bias, authoritarian teaching, lack of variety, lack of relationship with the real world, emphasis on memorization or on speed, or computer phobia. (MNS)

Investigated factors associated with mathematics anxiety in 63 undergraduates who completed four anxiety measures prior to completing three math tasks. Results indicated math anxiety measures were more related to each other than to test anxiety. Ability, physiological and avoidance measures showed little relation to math anxiety. (JAC)

Explores whether there is a component of mathematics anxiety distinct from numerical anxiety and mathematics test anxiety. A 30-item instrument was administered to 365 community college students. A factor involving anxiety associated with specific mathematics topics, labeled "abstraction anxiety," was found. (MNS)

Compared the cognitions of high and low math anxious undergraduates (N=71) who were asked to think aloud while solving mathematical problems. Results showed no anxiety-related differences for either performance or 11 categories of cognitions, and no sex differences in performance or for a linear combination of cognitions. (JAC)

Gives examples of classroom organization and instructional techniques that use, rather than ignore, subcultural differences in learning styles in order to increase minorities' achievement in mathematics. (GC)

Examined whether mathematics-related self-efficacy mediated the effects of gender and mathematical preparation and achievement on math relatedness of college major choice in 117 undergraduates. Results showed that math self-efficacy predicts both math anxiety and math-related major choices. Gender alone appeared insufficient to explain…

Achievement of women in an all-female section of a noncredit, basic algebra course was compared with achievement of women in mixed-sex classes at Indiana University. Women who selected the all-female section had lower mathematical ability scores, yet attained significantly higher achievement scores. (MNS)

Details a study that investigated the correlation between attitude toward mathematics learning and mathematics achievement. (FL)

Studied preservice elementary and secondary teachers to determine their attitudes toward mathematics and their basic mathematics abilities. Findings suggest that preservice teachers as a group are neither low in attitude nor ability. (Author)

Presented is evidence suggesting that many of the 6 percent of children who have difficulty with arithmetic suffer from a neurological development lag rather than an underlying deficit. Such pupils appear to favor the right cerebral hemisphere, which serves spatial functions, rather than the left, analytic half of the brain. (Author/KC)

Examined the dimensionality of the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale. Factors were identified and labeled as Mathematics Text Anxiety and Numerical Anxiety. Factor-derived scales were developed and correlated with five specific anxiety scales and an arithmetic test. (Author)

Studied the use of humorous cartoons to reduce the anxiety levels of students in statistics classes. Used the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS) to measure the level of student anxiety before and after a statistics course. Found that there was a significant reduction in levels of mathematics anxiety after the course. (SLM)

Describes a study comparing the effectiveness of desensitization techniques on the math anxiety and math self-concept of 96 traditional and nontraditional college students enrolled in developmental math classes. Math anxiety decreased for both traditional and nontraditional students after treatment, though it decreased more for traditional…