ORIGINAL RESEARCH

published: 24 July 2017

doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01196

Mathematics Anxiety and Statistics

Anxiety. Shared but Also Unshared
Components and Antagonistic
Contributions to Performance in
Statistics
Manuela Paechter 1 , Daniel Macher 1 , Khatuna Martskvishvili 2 , Sigrid Wimmer 1* and
Ilona Papousek 3
1
Educational Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria, 2 Department of Psychology,
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia, 3 Biological Psychology Unit,
Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria

In many social science majors, e.g., psychology, students report high levels of statistics
Edited by: anxiety. However, these majors are often chosen by students who are less prone to
Jesus de la Fuente,
University of Almería, Spain
mathematics and who might have experienced difficulties and unpleasant feelings in their
Reviewed by:
mathematics courses at school. The present study investigates whether statistics anxiety
Ann Dowker, is a genuine form of anxiety that impairs students’ achievements or whether learners
University of Oxford, United Kingdom mainly transfer previous experiences in mathematics and their anxiety in mathematics
Belinda Pletzer,
University of Salzburg, Austria to statistics. The relationship between mathematics anxiety and statistics anxiety, their
*Correspondence: relationship to learning behaviors and to performance in a statistics examination were
Sigrid Wimmer investigated in a sample of 225 undergraduate psychology students (164 women, 61
[email protected]
men). Data were recorded at three points in time: At the beginning of term students’
Specialty section:
mathematics anxiety, general proneness to anxiety, school grades, and demographic
This article was submitted to data were assessed; 2 weeks before the end of term, they completed questionnaires
Educational Psychology,
on statistics anxiety and their learning behaviors. At the end of term, examination
a section of the journal
Frontiers in Psychology scores were recorded. Mathematics anxiety and statistics anxiety correlated highly but
Received: 30 January 2017 the comparison of different structural equation models showed that they had genuine
Accepted: 30 June 2017 and even antagonistic contributions to learning behaviors and performance in the
Published: 24 July 2017
examination. Surprisingly, mathematics anxiety was positively related to performance.
Citation:
Paechter M, Macher D,
It might be that students realized over the course of their first term that knowledge and
Martskvishvili K, Wimmer S and skills in higher secondary education mathematics are not sufficient to be successful in
Papousek I (2017) Mathematics
statistics. Part of mathematics anxiety may then have strengthened positive extrinsic
Anxiety and Statistics Anxiety. Shared
but Also Unshared Components and effort motivation by the intention to avoid failure and may have led to higher effort for
Antagonistic Contributions to the exam preparation. However, via statistics anxiety mathematics anxiety also had a
Performance in Statistics.
Front. Psychol. 8:1196.
negative contribution to performance. Statistics anxiety led to higher procrastination in
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01196 the structural equation model and, therefore, contributed indirectly and negatively to

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Paechter et al. Mathematics Anxiety and Statistics Anxiety

performance. Furthermore, it had a direct negative impact on performance (probably via

increased tension and worry in the exam). The results of the study speak for shared but
also unique components of statistics anxiety and mathematics anxiety. They are also
important for instruction and give recommendations to learners as well as to instructors.
Keywords: statistics anxiety, mathematics anxiety, gender, performance, effort motivation

INTRODUCTION such as increased effort as long as the anxiety level is not too
high (Pekrun, 1988; Birenbaum and Eylath, 1994; Macher et al.,
Statistics anxiety is a pervasive problem in the context of 2015). Thus, negative and positive effects of statistics anxiety may
university studies, especially in social science degrees, such as outweigh each other.
psychology, education, or sociology (Onwuegbuzie and Wilson, Research studies suggest different antecedents that influence
2003; Onwuegbuzie, 2004; Ruggeri et al., 2008). However, is the development of statistics anxiety: Trait anxiety as a
it really statistics anxiety as a genuine form of anxiety that dispositional antecedent (Macher et al., 2013) can be described
impairs students’ achievements? Or is it rather that learners as the habitual tendency to perceive stressful situations as
transfer previous experiences in mathematics and their anxiety threatening (Spielberger, 1985; Endler and Kocovski, 2001;
in mathematics to statistics? The following study takes up this Meijer, 2001) and thus should be related to higher levels of
question and investigates the relationship between statistics statistics anxiety. Other studies found an influence of personal
anxiety and mathematics anxiety in a sample of psychology characteristics, such as gender, ethnicity, or age (Onwuegbuzie
students in their first term. et al., 1997). In various studies, female students reported
higher levels of statistics anxiety (Rodarte-Luna and Sherry,
Statistics Anxiety 2008; Macher et al., 2012, 2013, 2015; Papousek et al., 2012).
Statistics anxiety describes the apprehension that an individual Furthermore, situation-related antecedents, i.e., experiences and
experiences in instructional situations, in evaluative contexts attitudes that result from statistics courses or courses in related
related to statistics, or when working on statistical tasks. It knowledge domains, such as mathematics (Baloglu, 2003), are
is an enduring, habitual type of anxiety (Onwuegbuzie and assumed to be related to statistics anxiety. In that sense,
Daley, 1999; Onwuegbuzie, 2004). Consequently, students report mathematics anxiety should also influence the development of
manifold problems over the course of their statistics education statistics anxiety.
(Macher et al., 2012).
Statistics anxiety influences performance in an examination Mathematics Anxiety
but also during the preparation phase. In the examination, Mathematics anxiety is regarded to be a widespread problem in
statistics anxiety is related to interference of task-relevant with school as well as in tertiary education. For example, Ashcraft and
task-irrelevant thoughts (Eysenck et al., 2007), such as worry and Moore (2009) estimate that 17% of the US-American population
rumination, and reduces cognitive resources that are necessary suffer from high levels of mathematics anxiety; studies in other
for task solving. In a study by Macher et al. (2013), students countries arrive at similar estimations (Richardson and Suinn,
assessed their statistics anxiety 2 weeks prior to the examination 1972; Johnston-Wilder et al., 2014; Dowker et al., 2016).
as well as their feelings of state anxiety at two points in time Similarly to statistics anxiety, mathematics anxiety has been
during the examination. Statistics anxiety instilled a high level defined as feelings of apprehension and increased physiological
of state anxiety at the beginning of the examination and was to reactivity when individuals have to manipulate numbers, solve
a large degree responsible for the maintenance of a high anxiety mathematical problems, or when they are exposed to an
level, which impaired academic performance. evaluative situation which deals with mathematics (Hopko
These results suggest a negative influence of statistics anxiety. et al., 2003; Carey et al., 2016). Most studies and measurement
In contrast to this assumption, various studies found no or instruments assume at least two (assessment-related) facets of
only low, insignificant correlations between statistics anxiety mathematics anxiety: anxiety that is experienced when taking
and academic performance. In their synopsis of 11 studies, a test and anxiety experienced in classroom situations (Hopko
Macher et al. (2015) explain these results with antagonistic, et al., 2003; Cipora et al., 2015). Other studies add a content-
direct, and indirect effects of statistics anxiety. While direct related facet: numerical anxiety, which describes anxiety due
effects of statistics anxiety in the examination are mostly harmful, to performing basic mathematics operations and manipulating
indirect effects can be positive as well as negative for learning and numbers (Kazelskis, 1998; Baloglu and Zelhart, 2007).
performance. Negative effects prior to the examination mostly Studies that investigated the effects of mathematics anxiety by
concern difficulties in time-management and procrastination standardized basic mathematics tests found task- and memory-
during the preparation phase (Onwuegbuzie, 2004; Rodarte-Luna specific effects. Individuals suffered a compromised working
and Sherry, 2008; Macher et al., 2012). Procrastination was also memory specifically in tasks, which need storing, updating
negatively related to the use of deep-level cognitive strategies and intermediate results, and performing calculations and were less
meta-cognitive strategies (Wolters, 2003; Howell and Watson, fluent in processing numbers (Cates and Rhymer, 2003; Ashcraft
2007). However, statistics anxiety is also related to positive effects, and Krause, 2007). Cipora et al. (2015) assume that feelings of

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Paechter et al. Mathematics Anxiety and Statistics Anxiety

stress and tension induce individuals to terminate the anxiety- anxiety is a widespread phenomenon among psychology novices
evoking situation and thus tend to sacrifice accuracy for speed. across universities and nationalities, even though introductory
Mathematics anxiety does not only have direct effects on statistics courses can greatly differ in how much mathematics
task performance but also influences learning and academic they include (Ruggeri et al., 2008). These assumptions are
progress in a long range. Mathematics-anxious students tend supported by cognitive theories as well as brain functional studies
to avoid mathematics-related situations and courses and more on probabilistic and analytical reasoning. Evans (2003) and other
often exhibit procrastination behavior (Akinsola et al., 2007). authors (e.g., Goel and Dolan, 2003; Oaksford, 2015) distinguish
In a study by Meece et al. (1990) the combination of a two cognitive systems underlying reasoning: an evolutionary
low academic self-concept in mathematics, low importance old system and an evolutionary recent and distinctively human
ascribed to mathematics, and mathematics anxiety influenced system. Whereas, the former system is important for probabilistic
whether students in secondary education intended to enroll reasoning, drawing heuristics, and intuitive understanding, the
in mathematics courses or not. To our knowledge, only one latter is associated with abstract reasoning and hypothetical
study investigated the relationship between mathematics anxiety thinking (Evans, 2003). Brain functional studies demonstrated
and performance in a statistics examination. Pletzer et al. evidence for this assumption, e.g., by using fMRI methodology
(2010) found no correlation between both variables in the (Goel and Dolan, 2003; Oaksford, 2015).
overall sample, but a significant correlation between mathematics Yet, there is evidence that mathematics anxiety and statistics
anxiety and performance was found for a subgroup of students anxiety share at least some variance. In a study by Maysick (1984),
who responded to acute stress by increases in cortisol levels and statistics anxiety was a significant predictor of mathematics
subsequent decreases as the stressor (the examination) ended. anxiety in multiple regression analysis (even though one might
Several antecedents of mathematics anxiety have been criticize that statistics anxiety was used as predictor and not
identified. Gender is related to mathematics anxiety with females as criterion variable). Zeidner (1991) reports a correlation of
reporting higher levels of anxiety than males (Bieg et al., 2015; r = 0.41 between mathematics and statistics anxiety; however,
Cipora et al., 2015; Erturan and Jansen, 2015; Dowker et al., only statistics anxiety and not mathematics anxiety correlated
2016). Yet, it is still debated whether females score higher with grades in statistics. Birenbaum and Eylath (1994) report
than males on all facets of mathematics anxiety or whether a correlation of r = 0.33, mathematics grades correlated
differences can be mainly attributed to the test and course significantly with both types of anxiety. Mathematics anxiety
anxiety facets (Baloglu and Kocak, 2006). There is also mixed and statistics anxiety also correlated significantly and negatively
evidence concerning gender differences in performance. While with numerical ability, but only statistics anxiety correlated
some studies report differences in favor of males (Else-Quest significantly with inductive reasoning ability. Solving tasks in
et al., 2010; Cipora et al., 2015), others find no gender differences statistics needs both abilities and draws on skills in the two types
(Hembree, 1990; Devine et al., 2012; Erturan and Jansen, 2015). of cognitive processes described before.
Altogether, it is advisable to control for gender differences in However, studies on mathematics and statistics anxiety nearly
research studies on mathematics performance. Females do not exclusively used cross-sectional designs; many of them calculated
only experience higher levels of mathematics anxiety but also mainly bivariate correlations between the two forms of anxiety
show less self-confidence in their abilities in mathematics (Meece but did not consider them within a context with mediating
et al., 1990; Ertl et al., 2014). In addition, social determinants, or moderating variables. Therefore, it is not yet clear whether
such as the influence of parents, teachers, and peers as well as statistics anxiety is only an after-effect of mathematics anxiety.
cultural stereotypes about giftedness in mathematics influence Statistics anxiety might replace mathematics anxiety when a
the degree of mathematics anxiety (Casad et al., 2015). student no longer has to take courses in mathematics but
encounters statistics tasks that seem to look like mathematics
Statistics Anxiety and Mathematics Anxiety tasks.
Early research discussed whether statistics anxiety is really a
construct separate from mathematics anxiety. It was argued that Present Investigation: Research Questions
the contents underlying both types of anxiety form one domain of
and Research Models
knowledge and cannot be regarded separately (Demaria-Mitton,
The present investigation looks closer into the role of statistics
1987). Therefore, when initially introduced, statistics anxiety
anxiety and mathematics anxiety for learning and academic
was treated as an affiliate function of mathematics anxiety.
performance in statistics and investigates to which degree both
Recent studies consider statistics anxiety as being conceptually
concepts overlap or are different from each other. It will
different from mathematics anxiety (Cruise et al., 1985; Baloglu,
be surveyed how statistics anxiety and mathematics anxiety
2003). Of course, statistics uses basic mathematical concepts and
are related to specific learning behaviors and performance.
calculations but its learning contents differ from mathematics
Furthermore, antecedents of statistics anxiety and mathematics
in various aspects (Aksentijevic, 2015). Statistic tasks in
anxiety and their influence on learning and performance
majors, such as education, psychology, or sociology are more
will be investigated. The following research questions will be
closely related to verbal reasoning (Buck, 1987), they require
focused on:
probabilistic reasoning processes, such as making inferences
or drawing conclusions from data (Baloglu, 1999, 2003), and • Are statistics anxiety and mathematics anxiety independent
are often embedded into an applied context. Also, statistics concepts and/or do they overlap?

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Paechter et al. Mathematics Anxiety and Statistics Anxiety

• How are antecedents of statistics anxiety and mathematics anxiety. Studies in which female students reported higher levels
anxiety related to both types of anxiety? of domain specific anxiety than male students support this
• How are statistics anxiety and mathematics anxiety related to assumption (Rodarte-Luna and Sherry, 2008; Macher et al., 2012,
learning behaviors, such as procrastination and to performance 2013) as well as studies in which grades were negatively related
in statistics courses? to domain-specific anxiety (Baloglu and Kocak, 2006; Rodarte-
Luna and Sherry, 2008; Macher et al., 2012, 2013). Trait anxiety,
To investigate the above research questions, three working
math anxiety, and knowledge in mathematics are regarded as
models were developed and investigated by means of structural
antecedents of statistics anxiety. Based on findings in previous
equation modeling. The variations of the model mainly reflect
studies with samples at the same university but in different
assumptions on the closeness of the relationship between academic years, no differences between women and men in trait
mathematics anxiety and statistics anxiety. anxiety are assumed (Macher et al., 2012, 2013; Papousek et al.,
Model 1 (compare Figure 1): Direct and indirect relationships 2012).
between statistics anxiety, mathematics anxiety, learning Research has identified various variables that may influence
behaviors, performance in the statistics examination, as well as performance in statistics as well as in mathematics. Generally,
direct and indirect relationships between putative antecedents prior knowledge (e.g., measured by grades) is a strong predictor
of statistics anxiety and mathematics anxiety (gender, grades in for later achievement (e.g., Paechter et al., 2015). Especially in
mathematics at school, and trait anxiety) are investigated in the domains like mathematics, science, etc. gender differences in
model. achievement as well as in learning behaviors should be taken
Based on the studies described in the introduction, Model into account (e.g., Walsh and Ugumba-Agwunobi, 2002; Else-
1 assumes a relationship between gender, trait anxiety, grades Quest et al., 2010; Macher et al., 2012, 2013). Learning behaviors,
in mathematics at school, mathematics anxiety, and statistics especially procrastination, are also influenced by traits and

FIGURE 1 | Model 1 (A) Trait Anx., Trait anxiety; Grade M., Grades in mathematics; Math. Anx., Mathematics anxiety; Stat. Anx., Statistics anxiety; Proc.,
Procrastination; Perf., Performance in the statistics exam; (B) Math. Test Anx., Mathematics test anxiety; Num. Task Anx., Numerical task anxiety; Math. Course Anx.,
Mathematics course anxiety; Test/Class Anx., Test and class anxiety; Intepret. Anx., Intepretion anxiety; Fear of Asking f. Help, Fear of asking for help.

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Paechter et al. Mathematics Anxiety and Statistics Anxiety

attitudes, such as anxiety (Onwuegbuzie, 2004; Rodarte-Luna and with a written examination in the last week of the course.
Sherry, 2008; Macher et al., 2012, 2013). Passing this statistics examination is a requirement for enrolment
Research on statistics anxiety and performance suggests that in the second part of the course as well as for various other
indirect effects should be taken into account. In a synopsis subsequent courses in the study of psychology. All participants
of 11 studies by Macher et al. (2015), the majority of studies took part in the written examination. The study was performed
showed insignificant or very low bivariate correlations between in accordance with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and the
these variables (e.g., Birenbaum and Eylath, 1994; Fitzgerald American Psychological Association’s Ethics Code. Review and
et al., 1996; Nasser, 2004; Lacasse and Chiocchio, 2005; Chiesi approval was not required for this study in accordance with
and Primi, 2010; Macher et al., 2012, 2013) but significant the national and institutional requirements. Participation in the
suppression effects between statistics anxiety, performance, and research was voluntary. All participants gave written consent to
other variables. participate in the study and to confirm that their data were used
A crucial part of Model 1 concerns the relationship between in an empirical study.
mathematics anxiety and statistics anxiety (see Figure 1B;
Figure 1B is part of the model described in Figure 1A; for
the sake of clarity, the structure of the latent variables with Measures
their facets were depicted in a separate panel). Model 1 regards Statistics anxiety was measured by the German version of the
mathematics anxiety as an antecedent and, therefore, as a Statistics Anxiety Rating Scale (STARS; Cruise et al., 1985;
predictor of statistics anxiety (Baloglu and Kocak, 2006). Both Papousek et al., 2012). Three subscales of the STARS measuring
forms of anxiety are regarded as two separate concepts that, anxiety were used; test and class anxiety with 8, interpretation
however, may have shared components. This assumption can anxiety with 11, and fear of asking for help with 4 items. The
be explained by the importance of different cognitive abilities self-report items require participants to describe on a five-point
in the two knowledge domains (e.g., inductive reasoning ability: scale ranging from “no anxiety” (1) to “very much anxiety”
Birenbaum and Eylath, 1994; Goel and Dolan, 2003; probabilistic (5) how they feel in specific situations, such as “walking into
and analytical reasoning: Evans, 2003; Oaksford, 2015). In the the room to take a statistics test” (test and class anxiety),
model, mathematics anxiety and statistics anxiety each form a “trying to decide which analysis is appropriate for my research
separate latent factor with different facets. Each factor may be project” (interpretation anxiety), or “to ask a fellow student
related to learning behavior and performance. to explain a computer printout” (fear of asking for help). In
Model 2 (compare Figure 2): Model 2 differs from Model an evaluation of its psychometric properties, Papousek et al.
1 only with regard to the assumed relationships between (2012) found a three-factor structure underlying a superordinate
mathematics anxiety and statistics anxiety. It assumes that factor. This structure could be confirmed in a pre-study for
statistics anxiety is an affiliate function of mathematics anxiety the present research in which the psychometric properties of
(Demaria-Mitton, 1987). The different facets of mathematics and the translated version were analyzed in a sample of 1,061
statistics anxiety are subsumed under one latent factor that may psychology students (813 women, 245 men, 3 persons did not
be related to learning behavior and performance. give information about their sex). Confirmatory factor analysis
Model 3 (compare Figure 3): Model 3 assumes that supported a three-factorial structure with a superordinate factor
mathematics anxiety as well as statistics anxiety are separate (RMSEA = 0.043, CFI = 0.908, SRMR = 0.054). These values
latent factors with different facets and both latent factors belong can be considered as indicators of a good model fit (compare
to one superordinate factor which may be related to learning Papousek et al., 2012). The scales showed high consistency
behaviors and performance. values in the present sample (Cronbach’s α between 0.86
and 0.87).
METHOD Mathematics anxiety was measured by the Revised
Mathematics Anxiety Ratings Scale (R-MARS; Baloglu and
Participants Zelhart, 2007). The R-MARS includes three subscales that
Participants were 225 undergraduate psychology students at the measure mathematics test anxiety with 15, numerical task
University of Graz, Austria; 164 students were female (72.88%) anxiety with 5, and mathematics course anxiety with 5 items.
and 61 were male (37.22%). The gender composition of the The self-report items require participants to describe on a
sample corresponds to the gender distribution of undergraduate five-point scale ranging from “no anxiety” (1) to “very much
psychology students in Austria. The age of the participants anxiety” (5) how they feel in specific situations, such as attending
ranged from 18 to 39 years (M = 20.44, SD = 2.89). The a mathematics examination. Examples for these situations are
majority of students (95%) were between 18 and 25.75 years “taking an exam in a math course” (mathematics test anxiety),
old. All participants were enrolled in an introductory lecture- “being given a set of division problems to solve” (numerical task
based statistics course offered for psychology undergraduates anxiety), or “listening to another student explain a math formula”
in their first term. Course contents included topics, such as (mathematics course anxiety). In a pre-study, the psychometric
scales of measurement, different kinds of descriptive statistics properties of the translated version were analyzed in a sample
and their interpretation, the fundamental principles of inferential of 527 psychology students (380 women, 143 men, 4 persons
statistics, basic univariate tests, and interpretation of results. The did not give information about their sex). Confirmatory factor
lecture lasted one term (approximately 15 weeks) and ended analysis supported a three-factorial structure with the scales

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Paechter et al. Mathematics Anxiety and Statistics Anxiety

FIGURE 2 | Model 2 (A) Trait Anx., Trait anxiety; Grade M., Grades in mathematics; Math. Anx. and Stat. Anx., Mathematics anxiety and Statistics anxiety; Proc.,
Procrastination; Perf., Performance in the statistics exam; (B) Math. Test Anx., Mathematics test anxiety; Num. Task Anx., Numerical task anxiety; Math. Course Anx.,
Mathematics course anxiety; Test/Class Anx., Test and class anxiety; Intepret. Anx., Intepretion anxiety; Fear of Asking f. Help, Fear of asking for help.

described above (RMSEA = 0.05, CFI = 0.962, SRMR = 0.05). In et al., 2009; Macher et al., 2012, 2013). Participants indicate the
the present sample, Cronbach’s α ranged between 0.84 and 0.92. degree to which they procrastinate on academic tasks in their
In order to assess the relationship of the STARS and the R- statistics course, such as studying for the exam or keeping up with
MARS it was investigated beforehand by means of CFA whether assignments [rating from “never procrastinate” (1) to “always
the questionnaires belong to two separate latent factors or procrastinate” (5)] and the degree to which procrastination on a
whether they can be subsumed under one latent factor. Results task is a problem for them [rating from “not at all a problem” (1)
favor the solution with two separate latent factors and speak to “always a problem” (5)]. The total score was calculated as the
for the use of both instruments as originally intended by the mean of answers on the eight items. This scale shows moderate
developers and other researchers (Cruise et al., 1985; Baloglu and internal consistency in the study sample of n = 225 (Cronbach’s
Zelhart, 2007; Papousek et al., 2012). α = 0.71).
The general proneness to experience anxiety was measured Concerning mathematics grades, the participants were asked
by the State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory (STAI, German version; about their last grade in mathematics at school. Lower values
Laux et al., 1981). The trait anxiety scale consists of 20 items. indicate better performance [scale of grade in the participants’
Participants indicate how they generally feel and describe how school system ranges from very good (1) to not sufficient–fail
often they experience anxiety-related feelings and cognitions on (5)].
a 4-point rating scale ranging from “almost never” (1) to “almost Academic performance was measured with a written statistics
always” (4) (item example: “I have disturbing thoughts”). Higher exam, which was administered at the end of the course. The
scale values indicate higher levels of trait anxiety. The total 10 examination questions required cognitive operations ranging
score is formed by the mean of answers on all items. The scale from reproduction of knowledge, via application of knowledge
shows high internal consistency in the study sample of n = 225 (e.g., calculations), to analyzing and explaining information
(Cronbach’s α = 0.92). (Anderson et al., 2001). The answers to the questions of the final
Academic procrastination was measured by the exam were scored dichotomously (correct/not correct) so that
Procrastination Assessment Scale–Students (PASS; O’Callaghan participants could achieve a maximum of 10 points.

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Paechter et al. Mathematics Anxiety and Statistics Anxiety

FIGURE 3 | Model 3 (A) Trait Anx., Trait anxiety; Grade M., Grades in mathematics; Proc., Procrastination; Perf., Performance in the statistics exam; (B) Math. Test
Anx., Mathematics test anxiety, Num. Task Anx., Numerical task anxiety; Math. Course Anx., Mathematics course anxiety; Test/Class Anx., Test and class anxiety;
Intepret. Anx., Intepretion anxiety; Fear of Asking f. Help, Fear of asking for help.

Procedure anxiety [W (1,100.624) = 11.138, p = 0.001, d = 0.515] and

A design with three points in time was chosen for the study. interpretation anxiety [W (1,127.738) = 14.212, p < 0.001, d
Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, questions = 0.518] with females reporting higher anxiety values. No
on grades in mathematics, the R-MARS, and the STAI at differences are found for fear of asking for help [W (1,102.976) =
the beginning of term in October. Mathematics anxiety was 0.169, p = 0.682, d = 0.063]. According to the statistical results,
measured at the start of term because various studies regard females also have higher scores on mathematics test anxiety
it as an antecedent of statistics anxiety (Baloglu, 2003). One [W (1,108.636) = 7.849, p = 0.006, d = 0.418] and numerical
week prior to the examination, at the end of term in January, task anxiety [W (1,185.454) = 28.270, p < 0.001, d = 0.629],
all participants completed the STARS and measurements of but do not differ from males with regard to course anxiety
procrastination by the PASS. These variables were measured [W (1,139.395) = 0.931, p = 0.336, d = 0.128]. With regard to all
at the end of term because students could gather experiences other variables, no differences between female and male students
with their statistics course and the instructor and because some are found [trait anxiety: W (1,116.018) = 0.025, p = 0.876, d
questions refer to recent learning behaviors. In the last week of = 0.023; procrastination: W (1,91.486) = 1.792, p = 0.184, d =
term, students took the exam and their examination scores were 0.219; academic performance: W (1,123.516) = 1.509, p = 0.222,
recorded. d = 0.172; mathematics grades: U = 4256.000, p = 0.090,
d = 0.256].
RESULTS Mathematics grades at school range between 1 and 5: 88.4% of
students have a grade between 1 and 3 (22.2%: 1, 38.7%: 2); 9.8%
Table 1 displays the descriptive statistics of the variables of just have passed their course with grade 4 and 1.8% have a fail
interest in the whole sample and for the subsamples of (however, it is possible to receive a university entrance certificate
female and male students. Differences between female and with a fail).
male students were tested for all variables. Welch-tests show Correlations between the investigated variables are presented
significant differences with regard to statistics test and class in Table 2.

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Paechter et al. Mathematics Anxiety and Statistics Anxiety

TABLE 1 | Descriptive statistics for the variables investigated in the present study Three models which explain the relationship between
(total, female, and male students). mathematics anxiety and statistics anxiety and their role for
M SD MD Min Max N
performance were tested by means of structural equation
modeling. It allows to examine direct as well as indirect effects
Test and class anxiety 2.57 0.76 2.56 1.00 4.38 224 of antecedents of mathematics anxiety and statistics anxiety
Female 2.67 0.73 2.75 1.13 4.38 164 on possible consequences and to test relationships between the
Male 2.29 0.77 2.25 1.00 3.75 60 variables in a multivariate context (compare Figure 4). The
Interpretation anxiety 1.72 0.54 1.64 1.00 3.64 224
data were analyzed with Mplus 7 using a maximum likelihood
Female 1.80 0.56 1.73 1.00 3.64 164
estimator. The fit of the data to the hypothesized model and
the quality of the model were assessed using χ 2 /df, CFI, SRMR,
Male 1.52 0.46 1.45 1.00 2.64 60
RMSEA, and adjusted BIC.
Fear of asking for help 2.10 0.82 2.00 1.00 4.75 224
Results of Model 1 show a high β-weight for the path from
Female 2.11 0.82 2.00 1.00 4.75 164
mathematics anxiety to statistics anxiety. However, only a β-
Male 2.06 0.84 2.00 1.00 4.75 60 weight with a value of 1 would indicate that mathematics anxiety
Mathematics test anxiety 2.92 0.78 2.90 1.10 4.60 225 and statistics anxiety form one latent factor. This result already
Female 3.01 0.79 3.00 1.20 4.60 164 speaks against the alternative models 2 and 3. However, as the β-
Male 2.69 0.78 2.60 1.10 4.50 61 weight achieved a rather high value of 0.855 the two alternative
Numerical task anxiety 1.74 0.83 1.60 1.00 4.75 225 models were calculated anyway. Fit indices and sample-size
Female 1.88 0.88 1.80 1.00 4.75 164 adjusted BIC for these models also suggest that Model 1 fits the
Male 1.38 0.50 1.20 1.00 3.40 61 data better than Models 2 and 3 (see Table 3, see Figure 4). Values
Mathematics course anxiety 1.40 0.54 1.20 1.00 4.00 225
of χ 2 /df < 2, CFI > 0.95, SRMR < 0.08, and RMSEA < 0.06 are
considered indicators of good model fit (Hu and Bentler, 1999;
Female 1.42 0.57 1.25 1.00 4.00 164
Beauducel and Wittmann, 2005).
Male 1.35 0.44 1.00 1.00 2.40 61
In the following section, the results of Model 1 will be
Trait anxiety 2.06 0.51 1.95 1.05 3.70 222
explained in more detail. Figure 4 shows the results of the
Female 2.05 0.52 1.95 1.05 3.70 161
structural equation model. In the structural equation model, two
Male 2.07 0.48 2.00 1.30 3.30 61 latent factors were formed, one for statistics anxiety, one for
Procrastination 2.55 0.62 2.63 1.00 4.50 225 mathematics anxiety.
Female 2.52 0.59 2.56 1.00 4.50 164 As Figure 4A shows, three variables are directly related to
Male 2.65 0.70 2.63 1.38 4.00 60 mathematics anxiety: Female students report higher levels of
Performance 5.50 1.99 5.50 1.00 10.0 225 mathematics anxiety (β = −0.660). Participants with a higher
Female 5.41 2.06 5.50 1.00 10.0 164 propensity to experience anxiety in general report higher levels of
Male 5.75 1.78 5.50 1.00 9.00 61 mathematics anxiety (β = 0.385). Better grades in mathematics at
Grades in mathematics 2.00 1.00 5.00 224
school are related to lower mathematics anxiety (β = 0.393; lower
values in grades indicate better performance). Altogether, 37.4%
Female 2.00 1.00 5.00 163
of the variance of the latent factor could be explained (p < 0.001).
Male 2.00 1.00 5.00 61
Two variables are related to statistics anxiety: Grades in
Annotation: Grades were measured on an ordinal scale; therefore, M and SD were not mathematics show a relation to statistics anxiety: better grades
calculated. are related to higher statistics anxiety (β = −0.247). Mathematics

TABLE 2 | Bivariate correlations between the variables investigated in the present study.

(2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11)

Gender (1) −0.223** −0.224** −0.028 −0.183** −0.271** −0.057 0.010 0.010 0.077 0.110
Test and class anxiety (2) 1.000 0.688** 0.489** 0.610** 0.278** 0.432** 0.357** 0.211** −0.119 0.115
Interpretation anxiety (3) 1.000 0.515** 0.389** 0.375** 0.439** 0.281** 0.249** −0.126 0.047
Fear of asking for help (4) 1.000 0.307** 0.231** 0.355** 0.275** 0.194** −0.078 −0.002
Mathematics test anxiety (5) 1.000 0.367** 0.464** 0.327** 0.175** −0.123 0.330**
Numerical task anxiety (6) 1.000 0.322** 0.124 0.106 −0.012 0.126
Mathematics course anxiety (7) 1.000 0.182** 0.146* 0.005 0.207**
Trait anxiety (8) 1.000 0.228** 0.050 0.038
Procrastination (9) 1.000 −0.247** 0.218**
Performance (10) 1.000 −0.290**
Grades in mathematics (11) 1.000

Significant correlations are marked with asterisks (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01).

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Paechter et al. Mathematics Anxiety and Statistics Anxiety

FIGURE 4 | Result of Model 1 (A) Trait Anx., Trait anxiety; Grade M., Grades in mathematics; Math. Anx., Mathematics anxiety; Stat. Anx., Statistics anxiety; Proc.,
Procrastination; Perf., Performance in the statistics exam; (B) Math. Test Anx., Mathematics test anxiety; Num, Task Anx., Numerical task anxiety; Math. Course Anx.,
Mathematics course anxiety; Test/Class Anx., Test and class anxiety; Intepret. Anx., Intepretion anxiety; Fear of Asking f. Help, Fear of asking for help.

TABLE 3 | Fit indices for the three structural equation models. (β = 0.366). Poorer grades in mathematics at school are related
to higher levels of procrastination (β = 0.178). Statistics anxiety
Model χ2 df χ 2 /df CFI RMSEA SRMR Adj. BIC
is positively related to procrastination (β = 0.325). Altogether,
1 56.438 32 1.764 0.959 0.059 0.042 3657.273 15.3% of the variance of the procrastination scores can be
2 118.416 34 3.483 0.859 0.106 0.053 3714.793 explained (p = 0.001).
3 97.498 36 2.708 0.891 0.096 0.051 3698.333 Performance in the end-of-term statistics examination is
related to five variables: Higher levels of procrastination
(β = −0.179) and poorer grades in mathematics at school (β
anxiety is positively related to statistics anxiety (β = 0.855). = −0.385) are related to poorer performance. Men perform
Altogether, 63.4% of the variance of the latent factor of statistics better in the examination than women (β = 0.357). However,
anxiety can be explained (p < 0.001). Neither gender nor trait this relation between gender and performance is outweighed
anxiety were related to statistics anxiety. Figure 4B belongs by men’s higher tendencies to procrastinate, so that the mean
to the structural equation model and depicts the relationships performance values between genders do not differ from each
between the components of mathematics anxiety and statistics other [W (1,123.516) = 1.509, p = 0.222, d = 0.172]. For
anxiety. All facets of mathematic anxiety are significantly and statistics anxiety, only a marginally significant association is
strongly related to the latent factor; the same applies to statistics found: statistics anxiety is negatively related to performance
anxiety. Bivariate correlations between all facets are significant (β = −0.303, p = 0.063). Higher levels of mathematics anxiety
(see Table 2). are related to better performance on the statistics examination (β
Three variables in the model are directly related to = 0.381). Altogether, 17.3% of the variance of the performance
procrastination: Men are more prone to procrastination values can be explained (p = 0.002).

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Paechter et al. Mathematics Anxiety and Statistics Anxiety

DISCUSSION statistics anxiety. A possible explanation for this relationship

might be that students realize over the course of their first term
Overlap and Differences between Statistics that mere knowledge and skills in higher secondary education
Anxiety and Mathematics Anxiety mathematics are not sufficient to be successful in statistics.
Three structural equation models that differed with regard to Statistics tasks are strongly embedded in an applied context and
the closeness of the relationship between mathematics anxiety solving statistics tasks relies much more on verbal reasoning and
and statistics anxiety were investigated. Altogether, the results of drawing conclusions from data (Buck, 1987; Birenbaum and
the models and their comparison speak for mathematics anxiety Eylath, 1994; Baloglu, 1999, 2003).
and statistics anxiety as two separate concepts with sub-facets. Therefore, it might be that as students with good grades in
Model 1 which regards mathematics anxiety as an antecedent mathematics realize that this knowledge is only partially helpful
(and predictor) of statistics anxiety suggests that both forms in the statistics course they build up more anxiety. Grades,
of anxiety are highly correlated but not identical. Mathematics however, have antagonistic effects on statistics anxiety: a direct
anxiety contributes with a high and significant weight of ß = influence, by which better grades are related to higher statistics
0.885 to statistics anxiety. Fit indices speak for Model 1. anxiety, plus an indirect effect via mathematics anxiety by which
Model 1 and the bivariate correlations between the sub facets worse grades are related to higher mathematics anxiety levels
(see Figure 4, Table 1) show that the sub-facets are related to each and higher mathematics anxiety to higher statistics anxiety. The
other, especially those sub-facets that measure anxiety in the same strongest predictor for statistics anxiety, however, is mathematics
situation. Accordingly, the correlation between the test anxiety anxiety with a weight of β = 0.855.
facets is highest with r = 0.610 (37.21% shared variance); the task-
related facets correlate lower but still significantly with r = 0.389 Contributions to Academic Performance
(15.13% shared variance). The bivariate correlations between the facets of mathematics
However, even though both types of anxiety share a large anxiety and academic performance in the statistics examination
proportion of variance they also have genuine and even are not significant. In the structural equation model, mathematics
antagonistic contributions to academic performance. Altogether, anxiety has a 2-fold, antagonistic impact on academic
the results of the study speak for two latent factors with shared performance: a positive direct impact and a negative indirect
but also unique components of statistics anxiety and mathematics impact via statistics anxiety on performance and via statistics
anxiety. anxiety and procrastination on performance. The positive impact
of mathematics anxiety can probably be explained by students’
Antecedents of Mathematics Anxiety and motivational goals in the specific educational setting: According
Statistics Anxiety to Pekrun (1988), test anxiety—and therefore content-specific
The structural equation model shows three antecedents of forms of anxiety as well—reduces positive intrinsic effort
mathematics anxiety: Female gender, a high proneness to motivation. However, test anxiety may also induce motivation
experience anxiety in general, and poor grades in mathematics. to avoid failure and the negative consequences of failure. Such
Of the three antecedents, female gender is most strongly related failure-avoidance motivation may have different impacts on
to mathematics anxiety, a result that is in line with other studies effort motivation. In situations where effort avoidance lacks
(Meece et al., 1990; Devine et al., 2012; Macher et al., 2012, 2013; negative consequences (e.g., in laboratory settings), individuals
Cipora et al., 2015). may avoid failure by not exhibiting any achievement behavior
As expected, better grades in mathematics at school are related and thus prevent the risk to fail. In an educational setting,
to lower levels of mathematics anxiety. This relationship may be however, such effort avoiding behavior could pose a high
explained by more positive experiences in mathematics-related risk. If students do not invest a minimum of effort and time
situations that support confidence in the respective domain and preparing for the test, they will face severe consequences, such
counteract the development of mathematics anxiety. as failing the examination or even the whole degree. In that
The general proneness to experience anxiety to some extent case, part of mathematics anxiety could have strengthened
also predisposes individuals to situation-specific anxieties. In the positive extrinsic effort motivation via the intention to avoid
study, the general proneness to anxiety was measured as an failure.
antecedent of mathematics and statistics anxiety. It was chosen Studies by Wang et al. (2015) point to intrinsic motivation
because statistics anxiety as well as mathematics anxiety describe as a mediator for the relationship between mathematics
content-related anxiety experienced in different situations. The anxiety and academic performance. When students are
results show that proneness to anxiety explains part of the intrinsically motivated in mathematics moderate levels of
variance of mathematics anxiety, but it has no incremental effect mathematics anxiety are beneficial for achievement. Challenges
on statistics anxiety. in mathematics seem to induce these students to invest more
Concerning statistics anxiety, the structural equation effort into learning. In contrast, when intrinsic motivation in
model identifies two direct antecedents: good grades in mathematics is low, a linear function between mathematics
mathematics and high levels of mathematics anxiety. Somewhat anxiety and achievement can be observed (Wang et al., 2015).
counterintuitively, grades in mathematics at school are directly These results suggest to look closer into motivational processes
and negatively related with statistics anxiety, meaning that related to statistics and mathematics anxiety. In the present
students with better grades at school report higher levels of study, statistics anxiety has an indirect negative effect (via

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Paechter et al. Mathematics Anxiety and Statistics Anxiety

procrastination) and a direct negative effect on academic Implications for Instruction

performance. Individuals with increased anxiety may experience The results of the reported study do not only explain more of
low levels of self-efficacy and high fear of failure in potentially how anxiety is related to performance but are also important
threatening situations (Haycock et al., 1998; Wolters, 2003; for instruction. They emphasize that a part of the achievements
Rodarte-Luna and Sherry, 2008). Consequently, they tend to in statistics can be explained by prior mathematics success at
avoid certain tasks and situations, such as examinations, they school. One may ask which knowledge of mathematics at school
postpone taking assignments or preparing for an examination is needed for success in the statistics examination. In a study
and achieve less (Onwuegbuzie, 2004; Macher et al., 2012, 2013; on this question, Chiesi and Primi (2010) developed a test
Papousek et al., 2012). Furthermore, statistics anxiety has a direct for basic mathematics abilities that they regard as essential for
negative influence on academic performance which, however, understanding statistics (with topics, such as fractions, equations,
with p = 0.063 shows only a statistical trend. An explanation for relations among decimal, and absolute numbers, probability rules
this effect may be high levels of distress experienced during the etc.). In a sample of psychology students, students’ results on
examination. Macher et al. (2012) showed that statistics anxiety the mathematics test but also statistics anxiety were related
accounted for the maintenance of high distress levels throughout to success in the mid-term statistics exam. Fonteyne et al.
a written statistics examination. (2015) developed a basic mathematics test for students of
It seems worth to carry out further investigations on the psychology and sociology measuring basic skills as for example
relationship between mathematics anxiety and performance in numerical knowledge, operations with decimal numbers and
statistics. Research results on this relationship are ambiguous. brackets, fractions, percentages/proportions etc. Achievement
In the presents study mathematics anxiety had a 2-fold and in the basic mathematics tests correlated positively with the
antagonistic effect on performance. In a study by Zeidner students’ academic achievement including statistics. Various
(1991) only statistics anxiety and not mathematics anxiety studies on secondary school students’ knowledge and skills
correlated with grades in statistics. In contrast, Pletzer et al. point out that students largely differ with regard to these basic
(2010) found a significant negative correlation between the skills (see for example PISA studies, Field, 2014; Organisation
two variables—however, only for students who responded for Economic Co-operation Development, 2016) and this has
with high increases in cortisol levels (as stress indicators) consequences not only for later success in statistics but also
in the examination. These results point at variables that for the development of positive attitudes and the prevention of
mediate the relationship between mathematics anxiety and anxiety in this domain. However, it should also be kept in mind
performance in statistics. In the present study, statistics anxiety that in the present study grades in mathematics and performance
worked as mediating variable for the negative part of the in statistics only shared 8.41% of variance. This small amount
relationship. Future studies should combine these different of variance can be explained by the different types of tasks
approaches to measure anxiety and stress and integrate and different cognitive processes that are needed in statistics,
physiological measures with self-reports as well as achievement not only analytical tasks and processes but also probabilistic
variables. Also, further potential mediator variables should be ones.
investigated. A similar amount of variance (6.10%) is shared between
With regard to gender, the results confirm former studies in performance in statistics and procrastination. In that sense, the
which women report higher levels of statistics anxiety (Rodarte- results emphasize the role of learning behaviors and the harmful
Luna and Sherry, 2008; Macher et al., 2012, 2013) and higher impact of procrastination. They point out the importance of
mathematics anxiety (Bieg et al., 2015; Cipora et al., 2015; Erturan avoiding procrastination, of learning continuously throughout a
and Jansen, 2015; Dowker et al., 2016). However, gender is related course, of monitoring achievement continuously, and of filling
to a variety of variables in the model with different effects; gaps if necessary. Based on the results, instructors are advised to
for example, women seem to outweigh higher anxiety levels support anxious students already prior to the examination, for
by favorable learning behaviors, such as low procrastination instance by regularly providing opportunities for exercise and
(Macher et al., 2012, 2013). Thus, in the present study, gender reflection of learning content, by setting up several smaller tests
is not related to performance. and assignments instead of only one extensive test or assignment,
The two strongest predictors for good academic performance and by fostering students’ time management skills (Tuckman,
in statistics, however, are good former grades in mathematics 1998; Macher et al., 2013).
with a bivariate correlation of r = −0.290 and a shared variance The results also emphasize that anxiety may have antagonistic
of 8.41% between both concepts and procrastination with a effects on academic performance. On the one hand, it may
bivariate correlation of r = −0.247 and a shared variance of impair performance while on the other hand it may be beneficial.
6.10%. The former result supports research results by Fonteyne This does not mean that instructors should instill anxiety
et al. (2015) in which results of a mathematics test contributed into their students, but they also should not downplay the
to passing a statistics course. Grades also had an indirect difficulty of the course and should emphasize the importance
contribution to performance via procrastination. Students with to put effort in it to finally succeed. Instructors may also
better grades, and probably more positive learning experiences emphasize the importance and the worth of statistics and
as well as more efficient learning behaviors, are less prone to describe clearly to students what they have to do in order to
procrastination. succeed in a course. If students understand the importance of an

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Paechter et al. Mathematics Anxiety and Statistics Anxiety

examination for their studies, and if they perceive that passing examinations. It would be worthwhile to conduct future
a course is possible and dependent on their skills and effort, studies to investigate the differential impact of the type of
they should be more motivated to invest effort in the exam examination. In the present study, however, it was only possible
preparation. to investigate written examinations because the curriculum
of the investigated psychology students includes only written
examinations.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY,
DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
When interpreting the results of the study, one has to All authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual
consider that the investigated variables explain a significant, contribution to the work, and approved it for publication
yet moderate amount of the variance in performance (17.3%).
It is likely that the type of the examination influences FUNDING
how strongly students experience anxiety in the examination
situation. In a comparison of written vs. oral examinations, The authors acknowledge the financial support by the University
Diaz et al. (2000) found stronger effects of anxiety in oral of Graz.

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(2009). “Academic and general procrastination: A cross-cultural comparison” is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the
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Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 13 July 2017 | Volume 8 | Article 1196