Math anxiety has a statistically significant indirect effect on arithmetic calculation through working memory (affective drop pathway)¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associationalr1·q3
Currency · newest study 2019 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i? In a path model of arithmetic, MA exerted a statistically significant indirect effect on arithmetic calculation via working memory (standardized estimate = -.15, p = .001). → Skagerlund K 2019
Evidence¶
Skagerlund K 2019¶
Skagerlund K, Östergren R, Västfjäll D, Träff U (2019) How does mathematics anxiety impair mathematical abilities? Investigating the link between math anxiety, working memory, and number processing. PLoS ONE 14(1): e0211283. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211283
q3 · i? · associational · r1
Confirmatory SEM path analysis of arithmetic calculation in a sample of 170 Swedish adults, estimated in Mplus 7. The model showed reasonable fit (χ2 = 49.14 (31), p = .020, CFI = .96, RMSEA = 0.06) and "explained 56% of the variance of arithmetic". The indirect MA→WM→arithmetic path was "statistically significant" with standardized estimate = -.15.
"The path from math anxiety via working memory had a statistically significant indirect effect to arithmetic calculation (p = .001, standardized estimate = -.15) and also a significant indirect effect via NP to arithmetic (p = .027, standardized estimate = -.09)."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Math anxiety has a direct effect on arithmetic calculation above and beyond the indirect pathways — related
- Math anxiety has a statistically significant indirect effect on arithmetic calculation through symbolic number processing — related
- Math anxiety impairs numeracy primarily through working memory, with no significant indirect effect through number processing — related
- The relative strength of MA's pathways varies by mathematical task type: WM dominates for numeracy, both WM and number processing operate for arithmetic — a broader claim this one bears on
- Working memory and symbolic number processing are both linked to adult arithmetic and numeracy, replicating prior research — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
ma-indirect-effect-wm-arithmetic |
title |
Math anxiety has a statistically significant indirect effect on arithmetic calculation through working memory (affective drop pathway) |
description |
Math anxiety has a statistically significant indirect effect on arithmetic calculation through working memory (affective drop pathway) |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2019 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-17 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — skagerlund-k-2019 |
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