1. Limitations
Implications
Future directions
• An enduring
predisposition towards
feelings of anxiety (3)
• GA is a form of trait
anxiety
Oectives
H1,H2,H3:Not supported
H4:Not supported; but, there was a
statistically significant main effect of math
ability and both state and trait measures of MA
Learned negative
emotional response to
mathematical stimuli (1)
Methodolo
Can sedative nonlyrical music be
used to reduce undergraduate
student’s symptoms of math anxiety
(1) Ashcraft, M., Kirk, P. (2001). Journal of Experimental Psychology, 130, 224-237.
(2)Ashcraft, M., Krause, J. (2008). Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 14, 243-248.
(3) Bieg, M. (2013). (Doctoral dissertation)
(4)Nilsson, . (2008). Aorn Journal, 87(4), 780-807
(5)) Marconi Union (September 22, 2014). Weightless. On Weightless . England: Just Music.
(6) French, J. W., Ekstrom, R. B., & Price, L. A. (1963). Educational Testing Service: Princeton, NJ.
(7) Engle, R. (2002). Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 19-23
(8) Hopko, D., Mahadevan, R., Bare, R., & Hunt, M. (2003). Assessment, 10(2), 178-82.
Research Question
Works Cited
Oectives
H1: Music will increase mathematical performance
H2: Music will decrease both measures of math anxiety
H3: Music will increase performance on both working memory tasks
H4: There will be an interaction of condition and math ability, music will have a greater
effect for those of low math ability.
Hypotheses
Method Additional Analyses
Secondary Consent
Post-test Questionnaire
Researcher Generated
Trait Math Anxiety
Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (8)
Working Memory
Operation Span (7) Symmetry Span (7)
State Math Anxiety
Researcher Generated
Math Test
Kit of Factor Referenced Cognitive Tests (6)
10 Minute Wait Period
Experimental group: Weightless (5) Control group: Silence
Consent
N=38 Aged 12-23 8 males, 30 females
Pre-test Questionnaire
Median split of scores used to assign participants to low or high math ability
Math
Anxiety
• Music is a useful tool in
decreasing GA (4)
• Due to their similarities,
music may also
decrease MA
• A short term experience
of anxiety induced by a
specific event (3)
• MA is a form of state
anxiety
Obective
1.Find an intervention for math anxiety
2.Measure MA beyond self report
measures
3.Generate a measure of MA that
correctly treats it as a state anxiety
Objectives
State
MA
• Researcher generated
measure
• α = .80
• Statistically significant
correlation with trait MA
Results
• Math Anxiety (MA) and
General Anxiety (GA)
share several symptoms
• Very similar, but separate
constructs (2)
General
Anxiety
State
Anxiety
Music
Trait
Anxiety
A huge thank you to Dr.Trick, Ryan Toxopeus and
the rest of the drive lab. Many thanks to Megan
Kim, Dr. Gloria González-Morales, the College of
Arts and everyone else who made this project
possible.
Acknowledgements
Sample: small, lack of extreme values,
unequal conditions
Design: Between subjects not within
Create a
longer
state MA
measure
Continue
efforts to
find an
intervention
for MA
Meta
analysis to
disentangle
results
Discussion
Implies differences between MA and GA
Generated preliminary measure of state MA
Participants felt music helped them to relax
Music as an Intervention to Reduce Math Anxiety
Nathalie Sagar
Lana Trick