MATHEMATICS ANXIETY AND WORKING MEMORY What is the relationship?

Mathematics is all around us. Mathematical competence is one of the most important abilities that a person needs to master in life both for professional choices – especially for careers in science, technology and engineering ( Dougherty, 2003 ; Rivera-Batiz, 1992 ) – and for properly mastering everyday activities, (e.g., cooking, banking, shopping; Mazzocco, 2008 ) as well as personal wellbeing (e.g., Reyna & Brainerd, 2007 ; Reyna, Nelson, Han, & Dieckmann, 2009 ). Further, mathematical abilities not only affect the individual’s life but are also crucial for the entire society given their effects on economic opportunity and on meaningful participation in the community ( Moses & Cobb, 2001 ; Peterson, Woessmann, Hanushek, & Lastra-Anadòn, 2011). In fact, there is a correlation between the development of society and mathematics: the more complex a society is, the more it requires advanced mathematical abilities.