Working memory mediates the indirect effects of anxiety on math performance¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r1 · q3
Currency · newest study 2021 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · 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? Models with WM as mediator between anxiety and math fit better than models with anxiety as mediator; WM mediated indirect associations of both teacher-rated GA and MA with concurrent and future math performance. → Pellizzoni 2021

Evidence¶

Pellizzoni 2021¶

Pellizzoni, S., Cargnelutti, E., Cuder, A., & Passolunghi, M.C. (2021). The interplay between math anxiety and working memory on math performance: a longitudinal study. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14722

q3 · i? · associational · r1

Comparison of two path-model series (WM vs. anxiety as mediator) with bootstrapping in 146 children; Model 1a explained r² = 0.26 for MAT‐3 and r² = 0.45 for MAT‐4, slightly higher than the anxiety-mediator models (0.24 and 0.42).

"lower values for AIC, BCC, and RMSEA for the latter more than the former models suggest that it is more reasonable, in statistical terms, too, for anxiety to negatively affect WM than vice versa."

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

Teacher-rated general anxiety is associated with lower verbal working memory performance — related
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 — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
Math anxiety partially mediates the relation between attention problems and both math outcomes — related
Teacher-rated general anxiety negatively predicts concurrent and future math performance in third and fourth graders — related
Working memory fully mediates the effects of math anxiety and attention on children's non-verbal Numerical Operations — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
Math anxiety in Grade 2 shows an indirect effect on subsequent math performance in Grade 3 — related

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`claim`
`id`	`wm-mediates-anxiety-effect-on-math`
`title`	`Working memory mediates the indirect effects of anxiety on math performance`
`description`	`Working memory mediates the indirect effects of anxiety on math performance`
`status`	`review`
`evidence_strength`	`moderate`
`newest_evidence`	`2021`
`source_checked`	`2026-10-20`
`generated`	by `process:wiki-ingest` on `2026-10-17`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `pellizzoni-2021`

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