Anxiety in action.

Abstract

Math Anxiety is a term used to describe the anxious symptoms felt by those who suffer from it while confronted with mathematics. This study investigated the levels of math anxiety experienced by college students. It was hypothesized that students in non-major mathematics courses would score higher on the Gulick Math Anxiety Scale than their peers enrolled in mathematics courses for mostly mathematics majors. Furthermore, those students who identified themselves as having medium to high levels of math anxiety, would attribute that anxiety to a negative past experience in a mathematics classroom. Data collected was both qualitative and quantitative in nature, and revealed that students in the non-major classes scored higher on the Gulick Math Anxiety Scale than the students in the classes for mostly mathematics majors. The math anxiety that existed in students was highest when associated with testing anxiety, and the main reason students reported math anxiety was due to a lack of confidence.