Affective variables and gender do not relate to picture effects on elementary schoolers' word problem-solving performance¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Mathematics self-concept (an affective variable) and gender were not related to the effects of pictures on performance. → Terhi Vessonen 2026

Evidence¶

Terhi Vessonen 2026¶

Terhi Vessonen, Heidi Hellstrand, Pirjo Aunio, Anu Laine. (2026). Pictures in Mathematical Word Problems: A Systematic Review on the Role of Task and Student Characteristics. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-10112-5

q2 · i? · review · r2

Review synthesis of student-characteristic findings across eight studies; the review also reports that "gender was not related to association between pictures and students' performance". No effect sizes are printed for these moderator findings.

"Affective variables were not shown to relate to the effects of pictures on students' mathematical word problem-solving performance (i.e., Lindner, 2020)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Prior research attributes growing male superiority in word problem solving to age, with onset debated between sixth grade and high school — related
• Cognitive skills are the most probable student characteristic to modify picture effects: low math performers do better without representational pictures, low reading-comprehension students better with them — related
• Decorative pictures show consistently null effects on elementary schoolers' word problem-solving performance regardless of task characteristics — related