Working memory fully mediates the effects of math anxiety and attention on children's non-verbal Numerical Operations¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2017 · checked against its sources 2026-10-17 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? For non-verbal NO, only WM had significant direct paths; math anxiety and attention affected NO only indirectly through WM. → Wu 2017

Evidence¶

Wu 2017¶

Wu, S. S., Chen, L., Battista, C., Watts, A. K. S., Willcutt, E. G., & Menon, V. (2017). Distinct influences of affective and cognitive factors on children's non-verbal and verbal mathematical abilities. Cognition, 166, 118-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2017.05.016

q3 · i? · associational · r2

SEM analysis (Full Mediation model, best fitting for NO) in 330 children; this structural model accounted for 44.1% variance in NO, and "The effects of math anxiety and attention on NO were fully mediated by WM" with bootstrapped indirect-path confidence intervals excluding zero.

"In this model, only WM had significant and direct paths to NO. The effects of math anxiety and attention on NO were fully mediated by WM (p < 0.001)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Academic Anxiety — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
• Affect Regulation — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• In a cross-sectional model, attention problems relate to both non-verbal and verbal math performance only indirectly, through working memory (and, for MR, reading) — a broader claim this one bears on
• Math anxiety has both a direct negative effect and a WM-mediated indirect effect on children's verbal Math Reasoning, but only an indirect effect on Numerical Operations — related
• Math anxiety partially mediates the relation between attention problems and both math outcomes — related
• Mathematical metacognition statistically mediates the association between mathematics anxiety and children's word problem solving after controlling for IQ — related
• Reading comprehension significantly predicts verbal Math Reasoning but not non-verbal Numerical Operations — related
• Verbal working memory directly and positively predicts math performance in grades 3 and 4 — related
• Working memory mediates the indirect effects of anxiety on math performance — a broader claim this one bears on
• Lower-than-average math ability, low working memory capacity, susceptibility to public embarrassment, and a nonsupportive teacher are proposed risk factors for developing math anxiety — related
• Processing speed affects math achievement directly and both reading and math indirectly through working memory — related
• Higher working memory capacity was associated with better final test performance on advanced materials — related
• Cascade models in which IQ mediates the WM-to-achievement path fit comparably to, but not significantly better than, the original correlated models — related
• Modeling mathematics anxiety as the mediator of metacognition's effect on word problem solving yields no mediating effect — related
• Visual-spatial working memory predicts higher-order QNC (Level II/III) but not basic numerical skills, and is linked to Grade 3 math only indirectly — related
• Math anxiety compromises working memory only when the anxiety is aroused by computation-based tasks, not on verbal span assessments — related
• Math anxiety correlates weakly with working memory (r = −.18), and WM's mediating role between anxiety and math achievement is negligible — reports the opposite
• Type of mathematics assessed (Numerical Operations vs Mathematical Reasoning) does not significantly influence effect sizes — related
• Higher mathematics test anxiety predicts earlier practice-session exit, mediating lower learning gains in an adaptive math program — related
• Text-structure knowledge in passages and word problems mediates acquisition and cross-domain transfer effects — related