Patterns of anxiety in algebraic problem solving: A three-step latent variable analysis

Abstract

Math anxiety is associated with avoidance of math in high school. It is commonly assessed using questionnaires that examine anxiety experienced for arithmetic. A more nuanced understanding of math anxiety would be gained by investigating the anxiety associated with math problems encountered in high school at the time they are encountered. To this end, we investigated the anxiety associated with algebraic problem solving in 14-year-olds. We varied problem difficulty and the time allowed to solve problems, and assessed students’ anxiety concurrently as they solved problems. In two studies, latent variable mixture modelling revealed meaningfully different patterns of algebra ability and anxiety..