| सारांश: | <p>Researchers have examined the effects of Maths Anxiety (MA) on maths performance in late primary school children, adolescents and adults. However, the current state-of-the-art is limited in its developmental insights, especially at the most foundational stages of numeracy development (Caviola et al., 2019, Chapter 5). Maths Anxiety (MA) is defined as the negative feelings of worry when one is doing maths-related activities and is found to negatively affect both maths performance and ability by influencing the efficacy of executive processes such as maintenance in working memory and inhibitory control (Hembree, 1990; Richardson & Suinn 1972). Executive Functions (EFs) are the processes responsible for goal-directed behaviour, which are often considered in terms of the sub-constructs as inhibitory control, working memory and cognitive flexibility (Miyake & Friedman, 2000). I focused on inhibitory control (IC) and working memory (WM), as cognitive flexibility is more difficult to index in the early years and is less affected by math anxiety due to the context within which young children use numbers (Cragg et al., 2017; Hopko et al., Lewis, 1998; Katus et al., 2023).</p>
<p>While past research supports the relationship between MA, EFs and maths performance, it proposes conflicting theories about precisely how this happens. Does MA present itself first, resulting in increased EF demands, limited understanding, avoidance and lack of maths practice and thus poor performance? Alternatively, does poor maths performance induce anxiety and avoidance, thus creating a negative feedback loop of increased MA and compromised EFs and maths performance? Hence, I and other scientists see these questions as posing a “chicken and egg” problem (Cary et al., 2016; Ginet et al., 2018; Pizzie & Kraemer, 2017). Because it proves hard to understand the directionality of these processes in the current literature, here I investigated in depth their characteristics in much younger individuals. My overarching thesis is that, in order to truly understand MA and its causal outcomes, we need to first investigate its origins earlier in childhood, examining risk markers and protective factors. I pursued this by studying three independent groups of 3.5-year-old children and an additional sample of 6.5-year-old children to target the most foundational stages of numeracy and maths development, where I examined precursors and possible protective mechanisms which might arise.</p>
<p>To understand such foundational stages, I examined how affect (defined as the feelings of emotional arousal which influence cognitive performance; Gross & John, 2003; 2014) might influence numeracy performance directly and indirectly through EFs.</p>
<p>To expand on the direct and indirect relationships between MA, maths performance and EFs, I first conducted a review of the literature to clarify the current conceptual and methodological understanding of the relationships between affect, EFs and numeracy (Thesis Chapter 2). I then examined parental reports of 3.5-year-old children’s emotional control abilities and whether those are related to their numeracy and EF performance at such an early age (Thesis Chapter 3). Following the investigation of secondary reports of the children’s emotional control abilities and how they might relate to their numeracy and EF, I examined whether children themselves can report on their own feelings and attitudes, and whether such reports are related to and informative of their numeracy performance (Thesis Chapter 4 – Following the approach by Petronzi, et al., 2019, Chapter 5). Next, I investigated mechanisms of affective regulation (AR) underpinning attitudes at the behavioural level, and the physiological state and trait levels, and how these relate to numeracy performance in an independent sample of 3.5-year-old children. I examined this using high-frequency heart-rate variability, as an index of internal regulation shown to have a strong relationship with improved cognitive function (Thesis Chapter 5 – Allen et al., 2007; Porges, 2022; Thayer et al., 2009). I furthered our understanding of how such mechanisms of affect relate to later more developed numeracy performance by finally examining such mechanisms behaviourally and cognitively in 6.5-year-old children. In addition to the indirect relationship through EF, I also examined how overt attention is changed and whether we can understand if anxiety-related avoidance is at the stimulus level this early on (Described as micro avoidance in Daker et al., 2021 – Thesis Chapter 6).</p>
<p>Finally, in Chapter 7 I brought to converge evidence from Chapters 2 through 6, and evaluated how my thesis has advanced to the conceptual and methodological understanding of MA through a thorough review and designing new state-of-the-art methods, to bring a newly informed positive outlook to studying the earliest stages of affect towards numeracy. While literature has examined the detrimental effects of MA, I hope to provide a more positive approach to understanding both the earliest precursors and possible protective mechanisms which might allow one to become the elite mathematician who does in fact struggle with MA, as seen in the literature.</p>
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