Abstract

We examined the relationships between math anxiety, perfectionism and academic achievement in undergraduates enrolled in a course with high mathematical content. Participants were 251 students who completed math anxiety and perfectionism questionnaires, and whose academic achievement was measured via a multiple-choice examination. The number of hits, errors and unanswered questions on this examination were analyzed to explore the possible influence of math anxiety and perfectionism on students’ performance. Results showed that highly math-anxious (HMA) students were more perfectionist than their low math-anxious (LMA) peers, insofar as they were more concerned about making mistakes and had more doubts about their own actions. The HMA group also obtained worse grades than did their LMA counterparts, although this was because they left more questions unanswered, not because they made more mistakes. Analysis of the relationship between math anxiety and the number of unanswered questions revealed that concern over errors and doubts about actions played a mediating role in this relationship. In conclusion, HMA students’ fear of making mistakes and doubts about their own actions are important factors influencing their performance in multiple-choice tests.

摘要

我们研究了参加高数学内容课程的本科生的数学焦虑、完美主义和学业成绩之间的关系。参与者是 251 名完成数学焦虑和完美主义问卷的学生，他们的学业成绩是通过多项选择题考试来衡量的。分析本次考试的命中数、错误数和未答题数，探讨数学焦虑和完美主义对学生成绩的可能影响。结果表明，高度数学焦虑 (HMA) 的学生比低数学焦虑 (LMA) 的学生更完美主义，因为他们更担心犯错，对自己的行为有更多怀疑。HMA 组的成绩也比 LMA 组差，虽然这是因为他们留下了更多的问题没有得到解答，而不是因为他们犯了更多的错误。对数学焦虑与未回答问题数量之间关系的分析表明，对错误的担忧和对行动的怀疑在这种关系中起到了中介作用。综上所述，HMA学生害怕犯错和怀疑自己的行为是影响他们在多项选择测试中表现的重要因素。