Numerical comparison is spatial-Except when it is not.

The numerical distance effect (NDE) is an important tool for probing the nature of numerical representation. Across two studies, we assessed the degree to which the NDE relates to one's performance on spatial tasks to investigate the role of spatial processing in numerical comparison and, by extension, numerical cognition. We administered numerical comparison tasks and a variety of tasks thought to tap into different aspects of spatial processing.

It is a "small world": Relations between performance on five spatial tasks and five mathematical tasks in undergraduate students.

One of the most robust relations in cognition is that between spatial and mathematical reasoning. One important question is whether this relation is domain general or if specific relations exist between performance on different types of spatial tasks and performance on different types of mathematical tasks. In this study, we explore unique relations between performance on five spatial tasks and five mathematical tasks.

Examining the Interplay between the Cognitive and Emotional Aspects of Gender Differences in Spatial Processing.

Women reliably perform worse than men on measures of spatial ability, particularly those involving mental rotation. At the same time, females also report higher levels of spatial anxiety than males. What remains unclear, however, is whether and in what ways gender differences in these cognitive and affective aspects of spatial processing may be interrelated.

Parental intrusive homework support and math achievement: Does the child's mindset matter?

Prior research shows that when parents monitor, check, and assist in completing homework without an invitation, their children's motivation and academic achievement often decline. We propose that intrusive support from parents might also send the message that children are incompetent, especially if they believe their intelligence is fixed. We tested whether children's mindsets moderate the negative link between parents' intrusive homework support and achievement among first- and second-grade students followed for one academic year (Study 1, = 563) and middle and high school students for two academic years (Study 2, = 1,613).

Transcoding of French numbers for first- and second-language learners in third grade.

Transcoding is the process of translating between spoken and written numbers, and it is correlated with other mathematical skills. In the present study, we investigated the link between French number writing of 49 students in the third grade (aged 7-9 years) and their language skills. Transcoding in French is of particular interest because the spoken number language system does not completely correspond to that of the written digits (e.

Appraisals of previous math experiences play an important role in math anxiety.

Math anxiety affects many people, from young children through to older adults. While there has been debate concerning the developmental trajectory of math anxiety and negative math attitudes, little attention has been given to the role of appraisals of previous math experiences. We surveyed 308 adults (mean age = 27.

Testing the specificity of links between anxiety and performance within mathematics and spatial reasoning.

Anxiety within the domains of math and spatial reasoning have consistently been shown to predict performance within those domains. However, little work has focused on how specific these associations are. Across two studies, we systematically tested the degree of specificity in relations between anxiety and performance within math and spatial reasoning.

Next Directions in Measurement of the Home Mathematics Environment: An International and Interdisciplinary Perspective.

This article synthesizes findings from an international virtual conference, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), focused on the home mathematics environment (HME). In light of inconsistencies and gaps in research investigating relations between the HME and children's outcomes, the purpose of the conference was to discuss actionable steps and considerations for future work. The conference was composed of international researchers with a wide range of expertise and backgrounds.

Spatial anxiety and spatial ability: Mediators of gender differences in math anxiety.

Females tend to be more anxious than males while engaging in mathematics, which has been linked to lower math performance and higher math avoidance. A possible repercussion of this gender difference is the underrepresentation of females in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math), as math competencies are an essential part of succeeding in such fields. A related, but distinct, area of research suggests that males tend to outperform females in tasks that require spatial processing (i.

Individual differences in the development of children's arithmetic fluency from grades 2 to 3.

In the present research, we provide empirical evidence for the process of symbolic integration of number associations, focusing on the development of simple addition (e.g., 5 + 3 = 8), subtraction (e.

Elementary school teachers' math anxiety and students' math learning: A large-scale replication.

A solid foundation in math is important for children's long-term academic success. Many factors influence children's math learning-including the math content students are taught in school, the quality of their instruction, and the math attitudes of students' teachers. Using a large and diverse sample of first-grade students (n = 551), we conducted a large-scale replication of a previous study (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 2010, 1860; n = 117), which found that girls in classes with highly math anxious teachers learned less math during the school year, as compared to girls whose math teachers were less anxious about math.

Higher math anxious people have a lower need for cognition and are less reflective in their thinking.

There exists a large body of literature seeking to understand the relation between math anxiety and success in mathematics. While most of this literature focuses on domain specific relations (i.e.

Simple arithmetic: not so simple for highly math anxious individuals.

Fluency with simple arithmetic, typically achieved in early elementary school, is thought to be one of the building blocks of mathematical competence. Behavioral studies with adults indicate that math anxiety (feelings of tension or apprehension about math) is associated with poor performance on cognitively demanding math problems. However, it remains unclear whether there are fundamental differences in how high and low math anxious individuals approach overlearned simple arithmetic problems that are less reliant on cognitive control.

Response to Comment on "Math at home adds up to achievement in school".

Frank presents an alternative interpretation of our data, yet reports largely similar results to those in our original Report. A critical difference centers on how to interpret and test interaction effects. Frank finds no mistakes in our analyses.

Jump-Starting Early Childhood Education at Home: Early Learning, Parent Motivation, and Public Policy.

By the time children begin formal schooling, their experiences at home have already contributed to large variations in their math and language development, and once school begins, academic achievement continues to depend strongly on influences outside of school. It is thus essential that educational reform strategies involve primary caregivers. Specifically, programs and policies should promote and support aspects of caregiver-child interaction that have been empirically demonstrated to boost early learning and should seek to impede "motivational sinkholes" that threaten to undermine caregivers' desires to engage their children effectively.

Math at home adds up to achievement in school.

With a randomized field experiment of 587 first-graders, we tested an educational intervention designed to promote interactions between children and parents relating to math. We predicted that increasing math activities at home would increase children's math achievement at school. We tested this prediction by having children engage in math story time with their parents.

On the relationship between math anxiety and math achievement in early elementary school: The role of problem solving strategies.

Even at young ages, children self-report experiencing math anxiety, which negatively relates to their math achievement. Leveraging a large dataset of first and second grade students' math achievement scores, math problem solving strategies, and math attitudes, we explored the possibility that children's math anxiety (i.e.

Anxiety and cognition.

In this review we discuss the interplay between anxiety and cognition, illustrating how anxiety can compromise performance on cognitively-demanding tasks and lead people to perform below their ability. Using math anxiety and test anxiety as examples, we highlight key findings from psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience, to show that how one approaches an anxiety-inducing situation can have a large impact on how that person ultimately performs. We end by discussing who is most susceptible to anxiety-induced poor performance and suggest promising techniques which may help to reduce the negative impact of anxiety on performance.

Intergenerational Effects of Parents' Math Anxiety on Children's Math Achievement and Anxiety.

A large field study of children in first and second grade explored how parents' anxiety about math relates to their children's math achievement. The goal of the study was to better understand why some students perform worse in math than others. We tested whether parents' math anxiety predicts their children's math achievement across the school year.

Paying attention to attention: evidence for an attentional contribution to the size congruity effect.

Understanding the mechanisms supporting our comprehension of magnitude information represents a key goal in cognitive psychology. A major phenomenon employed in the pursuit of this goal has been the physical size congruity effect-namely, the observation that comparing the relative numerical sizes of two numbers is influenced by their relative physical sizes. The standard account of the physical size congruity effect attributes it to the automatic influence of the comparison of irrelevant physical magnitudes on numerical judgments.

Math anxiety: who has it, why it develops, and how to guard against it.

Basic math skills are important for success in school and everyday life. Yet many people experience apprehension and fear when dealing with numerical information, termed math anxiety. Recently, researchers have started to probe the antecedents of math anxiety, revealing some surprising insights into its onset, risk factors, and remediation.

The effect of mathematics anxiety on the processing of numerical magnitude.

In an effort to understand the origins of mathematics anxiety, we investigated the processing of symbolic magnitude by high mathematics-anxious (HMA) and low mathematics-anxious (LMA) individuals by examining their performance on two variants of the symbolic numerical comparison task. In two experiments, a numerical distance by mathematics anxiety (MA) interaction was obtained, demonstrating that the effect of numerical distance on response times was larger for HMA than for LMA individuals. These data support the claim that HMA individuals have less precise representations of numerical magnitude than their LMA peers, suggesting that MA is associated with low-level numerical deficits that compromise the development of higher level mathematical skills.

Challenging the reliability and validity of cognitive measures: the case of the numerical distance effect.

The numerical distance effect (NDE) is one of the most robust effects in the study of numerical cognition. However, the validity and reliability of distance effects across different formats and paradigms has not been assessed. Establishing whether the distance effect is both reliable and valid has important implications for the use of this paradigm to index the processing and representation of numerical magnitude in both behavioral and neuroimaging studies.

Mathematics anxiety affects counting but not subitizing during visual enumeration.

Individuals with mathematics anxiety have been found to differ from their non-anxious peers on measures of higher-level mathematical processes, but not simple arithmetic. The current paper examines differences between mathematics anxious and non-mathematics anxious individuals in more basic numerical processing using a visual enumeration task. This task allows for the assessment of two systems of basic number processing: subitizing and counting.