UCLA

Students with high math anxiety have often been characterized as low achievers and little

is known about the ways math anxiety contributes to perceptions of mathematics.. In this

concurrent nested mixed methods study, the personification of mathematics of 173

undergraduate students at a public university in Los Angeles was explored to examine the

implicit attitudes and beliefs students have about mathematics. Additionally, the relationship

between personification, math anxiety, and academic achievement were explored. Findings

highlight 7 themes in the personification of mathematics across varying levels of math anxiety:

organized, rigid, useful, engaging, enigmatic, daunting, and thoughtful. Results revealed a

relationship between personifying math as daunting with math anxiety but not achievement.

Differences were also observed between the way students with high and low math anxiety

personify mathematics.