The Correlation between Perfectionism and Cognitive Flexibility with Math Learning in Students: The Mediating Role of Achievement Anxiety

Homayouni, Alireza; Babanezhad, Manoochehr; Alavi, Seyedeh Zohreh; Golzade Gervi, Ehsan

doi:10.22034/iepa.2024.452295.1478

The Correlation between Perfectionism and Cognitive Flexibility with Math Learning in Students: The Mediating Role of Achievement Anxiety

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Alireza Homayouni ¹

Manoochehr Babanezhad ²

Seyedeh Zohreh Alavi ³

Ehsan Golzade Gervi ⁴

¹ Corresponding author, Assistance Professor, Department of Psychology, Bandar Gaz Branch, Islamic Azad University,Bandar Gaz, Iran

² Associate Professor, Department of Statistics, Faculty of science, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran

³ Assistance Professor, Department of Mathematics, Bandar Gaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bandar Gaz, Iran

⁴ Assistance Professor, Department of Statistics, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/iepa.2024.452295.1478

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate the mediating role of achievement anxiety in the relationship between perfectionism and cognitive flexibility in math learning in students. The study was correlational using structural equation modeling. The statistical population included senior high school female students in the academic year of 2022-2023. According to the obvious variables, allocation of 25 coefficients, and taking into account the incomplete questionnaires, 231 students were selected by convenience sampling. The instruments included Hewitt and Flett’s perfectionism (1991) questionnaire, Dennis and Vander Wal's cognitive flexibility (2010) questionnaire, and Alpert and Haber's achievement anxiety (1960) questionnaire. Also, the students’ math scores at the end of the semester were used to measure their math learning. The data were analyzed by Pearson's correlation coefficient test and structural equation modeling using SPSS18 and AMOS24 software. The results showed that perfectionism and achievement anxiety have a negative direct effect, and cognitive flexibility has a positive direct effect on math learning. Also, perfectionism and cognitive flexibility have an indirect effect on math learning through achievement anxiety. The research model was also confirmed and the result showed that the variable measurement models have a good fit and 41% of the math learning variance is explained by the research variables. The findings of this research can be beneficial for teaching and learning of students. With educational planning and helping students, their cognitive capacities and competencies can be increased and their mathematical learning can be effectively improved.

Keywords

Achievement anxiety

cognitive flexibility

Math learning

students

Perfectionism

Subjects

Learning

Afshar, H., Roohafza, H., Sadeghi, M., Saadaty, A., Salehi, M., Motamedi, M., Matinpour, M., Isfahani, H. N., & Asadollahi, G. (2011). Positive and negative perfectionism and their relationship with anxiety and depression in Iranian school students. Journal of Research in Medical Sciences: The Official Journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, 16(1), 79–86.

Alpert, R., & Haber, R. N. (1960). Anxiety in academic achievement situations. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 61(2), 207–215.

Ayatollahi, G., Alikhani, S., & Shamsuddin Qatram, F. (2024). Some methods to learn mathematics better. Interdisciplinary Studies in Education.

Babaei, A., Momeni F., Vahedi, M., & Davoudi, M. (2023). The relationship of cognitive flexibility and self-compassion with depression and anxiety among healthcare staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Iranian Rehabilitation Journal, 21(1), 39-48.

Badamchi, S., Yazdani, S., & Vahedi, H. (2023). The relationship between Sternberg's thinking styles and the three dimensions of perfectionism with the happiness of female students in the first year of high school in Khoy city. Women and Family Studies, 60 (16), 101 – 123.

Balali, M., Sadeghi, J., & Homayouni, A. (2023). The intermediating role of self-regulation in the relationship between math educational beliefs and students’ math anxiety. Iranian Journal of Learning and Memory, 6(21), 61-67. doi: 10.22034/iepa.2023.170857

Baloglu, M., & Koçak, R. (2006). A multivariate investigation of the differences in mathematics anxiety. Personality and Individual Differences, 40(7), 1325–1335.

Barroso, C., Ganley, C. M., McGraw, A. L., Geer, E. A., Hart, S. A., & Daucourt, M. C. (2021). A meta-analysis of the relation between math anxiety and math achievement. Psychological Bulletin, 147(2), 134–168.

Bojnordi, M. A., Bakhtiarpour, S., Makvandi, B., & Ahteshamzadeh, P. (2019). Considering the mediating role of academic achievement anxiety in relationship between parental psychological control and academic engagement in Applicants for university entry. Counseling Culture and Psychotherapy, 10(40), 113-132.

Burgess, A., & DiBartolo, P. M. (2016). Anxiety and perfectionism: Relationships, mechanisms, and conditions. Perfectionism, Health, and Well-being, 177-203.

Buzzai, C., Filippello, P., Puglisi, B., Mafodda, A.V., & Sorrenti, L. (2020). The relationship between mathematical achievement, mathematical anxiety, perfectionism and metacognitive abilities in Italian students. Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology, 8 (3), 1-18.

Carbonella, Y., & Timpano, K. R. (2017). Examining the link between hoarding symptoms and cognitive flexibility deficits. Behavior Therapy, 47(2), 262-273.

Dennis, J. P., & Vander Wal, J. S. (2010). The Cognitive Flexibility Inventory: Instrument development and estimates of reliability and validity. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 34, 241-253.

Fang, T., & Liu, F. (2022). A review on perfectionism. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 10(1), 355-364.

Farazi, F., Khamesan, A., & Asadi Yoonesi, M. R. (2013). The relationship between perceived parenting styles and dimensions of perfectionism in female students. Journal of Family Research, 9(4), 439-450.

Feng, X., Perceval, G. J., Feng, W., & Feng, C. (2020). High cognitive flexibility learners perform better in probabilistic rule learning. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 491274.

Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. (2002). Perfectionism and maladjustment: An overview of theoretical, definitional, and treatment issues. American Psychological Association, 21(3), 167-175.

Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. (2006). Positive versus negative perfectionism in psychopathology: A comment on Slade and Owens’s dual process model. Behavior Modification, 30, 472-495.

Ford, C. J., Usher, E. L., Scott, V. L., & Chen, X. Y. (2023). The ‘perfect’ lens: Perfectionism and early adolescents' math self‐efficacy development. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(1), 211-228.

Gökçe, S., & Güner, P. (2024). Pathways from cognitive flexibility to academic achievement: mediating roles of critical thinking disposition and mathematics anxiety. Current Psychology, 43, 18192–18206.

Gresham, G. (2004). Mathematics anxiety in elementary students. CMC ComMuniCator, 29(2), 28-29.

Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(3), 456–470.

Heidarian, A., & Norouzi, M. (2014). Prediction of test anxiety by emotion regulation and perfectionism of high school students. Counseling Culture and Psychotherapy, 5(19), 106-122.

Homayouni, A. (2011). Personality traits and emotional intelligence as predictors of learning English and math. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 839 – 843.

Homayouni, A., & Ebrahimi Ghavam, S. (2014). Investigation the role of metacognitive processes and learning styles with mathematics anxiety in financial science students. Asian Journal of Research in Organizational Behavior and Human Recourse Management, 2(3), 34-42.

Hooda, M., & Saini, A. (2017). Academic anxiety: An overview. Educational Quest, 8(3), 807-810.

Isabel Nunez-Pena, M., & Bono, R. (2021). Math anxiety and perfectionistic concerns in multiple-choice assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 46(6), 865-878.

Kohandani, M., & AbolmaaliAlhosseini, K. (2017). Factor structure and psychometric properties of Persian version of cognitive flexibility of Dennis, VanderWal and Jillon. Psychological Models and Methods, 8(29), 53-70.

Kupari, P., & Nissinen, K. (2013). Background factors behind mathematics achievement in Finnish education context: Explanatory models based on TIMSS 1999 and TIMSS 2011 data. In IEA Conference, Proceedings (4^th June, 2019).

Lee, J. K., & Orsillo, S. M. (2014). Investigating cognitive flexibility as a potential mechanism of mindfulness in generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 45(1), 208-216.

Martignon, L., Binder, K., Loibl, K., Macchi, L., & Hanna, G. (2023). Psychology and mathematics education. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1243419.

Mazana, M. Y., Montero, C. S., & Casmir, R. O. (2019). Investigating students’ attitude towards learning mathematics. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 14(1), 207-231.

McCaughey, N. J., Hill, T. G., & Mackinnon, S. P. (2022). The association of self-efficacy, anxiety sensitivity, and perfectionism with statistics and math anxiety. Personality Science, 3 (1), e7091, 1-23.

Milovanović, I. (2020). Math anxiety, math achievement and math motivation in high school students: Gender effects. Croatian Journal of Education, 22(1), 175–206.

Mirzaei, K., & SanaiZavareh, M. (2017). Investigating the effect of quantitative and qualitative evaluation on the level of math anxiety of female high school students in Qorve city in the academic year of 2016-2017. The National Conference of New World Achievements in Education, Psychology, Law and Cultural-Social Studies, June 30, West Azarbaijan, Khoy.

Mohammadinejad, E., & Mohammadi Ahmadabadi, N. (2023). The mediating role of mindfulness in the relationship between perfectionism beliefs and math anxiety of female students. The first International Conference of Psychology, Social Sciences, Educational Sciences and Philosophy, 11 May, Babol, Iran.

Mollaei, F., Hejazi, M., Yosefi Afrashteh, M., & Morovvati, Z. (2020). Mediating role of cognitive flexibility on relation of academic optimism, with academic vitality, among high school female students of Zanjan. Education Strategies in Medical Sciences, 13(1), 43-52.

Moore, K. (2010). Gender and the differential effects of active and passive perfectionism on Mathematics anxiety and writing anxiety. Cognition, Brain, Behavior, 14(4), 333-345.

Naderi Dehsheykh, M., Hafezi, F., & Dashtbozorgi, Z. (2021). Relationship of students’ math anxiety with their optimism and perceived classroom structure, mediated by mathematics attitudes. Iranian Journal of Learning and Memory, 4(15), 69-76. doi: 10.22034/iepa.2021.143897

Núñez-Peña, M.I., & Bono, R. (2021). Math anxiety and perfectionistic concerns in multiple-choice assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 46(6), 865-878.

Paki, V. (2012) The relationship between self-esteem and mental health and students' academic anxiety. Master's thesis, Fars University of Research Sciences.

Sevari, K. (2020). The mediating role of academic, social and emotional self-efficacy in the relationship between cognitive flexibility and psychological well-being. Rooyesh-e-Ravanshenasi Journal (RRJ), 9(5), 39-50.

Shahidi, L., & Manshaee, G. R. (2015). The effectiveness of meta-cognitive training on emotional regulation and academic emotion in mathematics among second-grade high school students. Advances in Cognitive Science, 17(3), 30-37.

Sinclair, B. (2022, July). Math ACTIVE: Mastering mathematics with psychological flexibility. In The Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Developing Mathematical Resilience. The Open University. 6-8 July, 88-93.

Siregar, R., Suryadi, D., Prabawanto, S., & Mujib, A. (2022). Cognitive flexibility of students in solving mathematical problems: A phenomenology study. Kreano, Jurnal Matematika Kreatif-Inovatif, 13(2), 355-369.

Soleymani, B., & Rekabdar, G. (2010). The relationship between perfectionism dimensions and mathematics performance in Iranian students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 8, 453-457.

Stein J (2010) Emotional self-regulation: A critical component of executive function. Promoting executive function in the classroom. Guilford Press.

Syyeda, F. (2016). Understanding Attitudes towards Mathematics (ATM) using a multimodal modal model: An exploratory case study with secondary school children in England. Cambridge Open-Review Educational Research e-Journal, 3, 32-62.

Wang, X., Houang, R. T., Schmidt, W. H., & Kelly, K. S. (2024). The Relationship between opportunity to learn, mathematics self-efficacy, and math performance: Evidence from PISA 2012 in 63 Countries and Economies. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-024-10446-6

Wilson, C. G., Nusbaum, A. T., Whitney, P., & Hinson, J. M. (2018). Trait anxiety impairs cognitive flexibility when overcoming a task acquired response and a preexisting bias. PLoS ONE, 13(9), e0204694.

Young, E. A., Clopton, J. R., & Bleckley, M. K. (2004). Perfectionism, low self-esteem, and family factors as predictors of bulimic behavior. Eating Behaviors, 5(4), 273-283.

Zmigrod, L., Rentfrow, P. J., Zmigrod, S., & Robbins, T. W. (2019). Cognitive flexibility and religious disbelief. Psychological Research, 83(8), 1749-1759.