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Find Math Painful — Literally? Science Says There’s Some Truth to It

Nov. 2, 2012 1:24pm
Researchers Find Anticipation of Math Problems Can Actually Cause Some to Register Sense of Pain

(Photo: Shutterstock.com)

Picture yourself in a student, sitting at a desk with your two No. 2 pencils sharpened and ready for a standardized math test. Has your heart rate quickened? Are you feeling anxious? Researchers have conducted a study of those with math anxiety and found that it can actually register pain.

Researchers from the University of Chicago reviewed brain scans of those with math anxiety and saw activity in the area associated with pain when math was being presented to them.

“For someone who has math anxiety, the anticipation of doing math prompts a similar brain reaction as when they experience pain—say, burning one’s hand on a hot stove,” Sian Beilock, professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, said according to Medical Xpress.

Bielock and Ian Lyons, a 2012 PhD graduate from the University of Chicago and a postdoctoral scholar at Western University in Ontario, published “When Math Hurts: Math Anxiety Predicts Pain Network Activation in Anticipation of Doing Math” in the journal PLoS One. According to the abstract, they sought to figure out the following questions:

Math can be difficult, and for those with high levels of mathematics-anxiety (HMAs), math is associated with tension, apprehension, and fear.But what underlies the feelings of dread effected by math anxiety? Are HMAs’ feelings about math merely psychological epiphenomena, or is their anxiety grounded in simulation of a concrete, visceral sensation – such as pain – about which they have every right to feel anxious?

Asking 14 people with math anxiety to complete both math and word problems while the researchers monitored their brain activity, they found that an anxious response associated with pain was “specific to anticipating doing a math task.”

“The brain activation does not happen during math performance, suggesting that it is not the math itself that hurts; rather the anticipation of math is painful,”  Lyons said according to Medical Xpress.

The authors state in the study that the results suggest a potential reason why those with math anxiety avoid math-related situations, including taking some classes and careers that might involve math.

Featured image via Shutterstock.com. 

(H/T: GeekOSystem)

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Comments (41)

  • grayling646
    Posted on November 6, 2012 at 12:54am

    Any student or math enthusiast who’s having problems can go to kahnacademy.org. Has great math lessons and other subjects.

    Report this comment

    grayling646  
  • OJMDC
    Posted on November 5, 2012 at 11:26am

    I’ve always had difficulty with math. I passed high school arithmetic with a D. I couldn’t keep track of all of the formulas. I couldn’t determine which formula to apply when presented with a problem. I think if I were given a tangible application as to why I need to solve an equation would have helped. I can’t visualize how to use the formulas. I can easily visualize percentages, decimals and fraction,but I can’t write a formula for them.

    I really do wish I had a better grasp of math.

    Report this comment

    OJMDC  
  • Valuable
    Posted on November 3, 2012 at 4:09pm

    I have Dyscalculia which is most like Reading’s Dyslexia. Math Anxiety is just a small part of the entire awful disorder.

    Dyscalculia is a specific learning disability in mathematics. Dyscalculia is a word you use to describe when people have significant problems with numbers – but still have a normal or above normal IQ. It seems that no dyscalculic has problems with math alone, but also struggle with problems being able to learn to tell time, left/right orientation, rules in games and much more.

    http://www.dyscalculia.org/

    http://www.ldonline.org/indepth/math

    http://www.dyscalculiaforum.com/news.php

    Report this comment

    Valuable  
    • DixT
      Posted on November 4, 2012 at 12:04am

      My granddaughter (17) was recently diagnosed with Dyscalculia. I believe I also have it, as well as my daughter! But my daughter and I have never been tested. But we saw signs in my granddaughter, that we painfully went through ourselves, when we were her age. At 64, I am beginning to face my fear of math, by taking classes—and learning HOW to find my way back from somewhere I’ve driven!!! I’ve learned to compensate with “time,” and am fairly good at it now!

      Report this comment

      DixT  
  • imhistory1
    Posted on November 3, 2012 at 2:16pm

    Please, please fix the first sentence!

    Report this comment

    imhistory1  
  • TeslanEdison
    Posted on November 3, 2012 at 1:51am

    I think it comes from the teaching math fundamentals as concrete laws only to break them in higher levels , think about the subject of real numbers, teaching someone that you can only have 4 oranges and adding only those oranges as objects is inaccurate teaching, not all oranges are the same, some have more or less volume, thus you might have 4.3 oranges, and the fractions of an orange will not add up to a new orange, but this is topic is avoided until later which I believe to be wrong, we are teaching math incorrectly and the consequence is pain. Children Can tell the difference between objects, why do we teach them that everything is added subtracted divided and multiplied the same when different things are added differently. Some things like cars get abstract numbers, while others are counted by volume, teach that first, it would make things far less painful. Oh and logically anything divided by zero is not zero, if in reality you have a number of objects in physical presence, they do not cease to exist because you have stated you are dividing them by zero, teach that some math is false or will not calculate, not all teachers do. You could teach that dividing by zero is called deficit spending and that the physical number you have remaining is owed to China.

    Report this comment

    TeslanEdison  
  • rsanchez1
    Posted on November 3, 2012 at 12:16am

    Math anxiety has long been known to be a problem. Now we see that this anxiety, like other (genuine) forms of anxiety can cause physical symptoms, like pain. Some people get nausea before a big math test.

    One of the things we should do if we aim to improve the education of our children is to teach them math in such a way that it does not bring up anxiety. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be a priority for most K-12 teachers. It wasn’t until college physics that I encountered professors with genuine love for mathematics, with enthusiasm for such beautiful equations as Maxwell’s equations, short statements that give us mastery over nature. If we could present math to students in this form, instead of as just problems to be solved, I bet math anxiety would not be a problem.

    Report this comment

    rsanchez1  
  • freelancer91
    Posted on November 2, 2012 at 10:59pm

    I’m a comp-sci major so I work closely with math majors but am not one myself. Math classes at every university seem to be taught be professors who genuinely hate their students. This explains why…..

    Report this comment

    freelancer91  
  • loneindividual
    Posted on November 2, 2012 at 6:42pm

    Math is painful because it approaches Meaninglessness. There is no positive association with numbers to offset the emptiness of it.

    People prefer to sense amounts…not count tedious numbers.

    I had serious problems with Math. When I got into College…I had to take Pre-Algebra…IT WAS THAT BAD.

    I passed with flying colors. My teacher taught me to LOVE MATH and that took away much of the pain.

    I have lost that loving feeling though…ever since leaving her class.

    I loved it when she said, “NO BANANA” when she showed how not to do a FOIL problem.

    She said laughter helps us remember to breathe. “The brain needs oxygen!” She exclaimed in her Filipino accent. “No oxygen! No brain!” she added, furiously wagging her finger.

    Report this comment

    loneindividual  
    • Vonnie
      Posted on November 4, 2012 at 12:25pm

      My math experience was opposite. Math made so much sense to me and eventually I found how much math explains basic of many other studies.

      Every time I did well in a course I believed I would.

      This probably explains why millionaires dropped from formal education.

      Remove anxiety and watch our gdp grow.

      Report this comment

      Vonnie  
  • Daithi
    Posted on November 2, 2012 at 4:43pm

    Sorry, but I couldn’t get past the first line that says, “Picture yourself in a student…”

    Report this comment

    Daithi  
  • VA firebrand
    Posted on November 2, 2012 at 4:03pm

    Dyslexic and didn’t know it. Just know I’m allergic to math.

    Report this comment

    VA firebrand  
    • Valuable
      Posted on November 3, 2012 at 4:00pm

      @VA Firebrand-

      I am allergic to math too. I have something called Dyscalculia which is math’s Dyslexia. I am not sure if you meant that you really do have Dyslexia too but it is possible to have both.

      Report this comment

      Valuable  
  • ACTIONNOTTALK
    Posted on November 2, 2012 at 3:57pm

    That headline graphic on the main Blaze page… integration by parts. Integral of v*du = u*v – integral of u*dv. Brings back happy memories doing calculus on Friday night while all my friends were out getting drunk and married. Only had two keys on my key ring, the car and the front door. Life was so much simpler then.

    Report this comment

    ACTIONNOTTALK  
  • Mahtoska
    Posted on November 2, 2012 at 3:48pm

    Aced every college course I took except math… struggled through college algebra one term and went to take it again, first exam 2nd time through got a D- then this little Vietnamese girls heard me whining about my grade and she says “Oh, I do all my homework 3 times!” I said “What?” She says “Yeah, I do it 3 time!” So, I figure FINE! I go home and for the next 2-3 weeks I do every assignment 3 times; Next exam, what do you think I got? 94%…. you could’ve knocked me over with a feather! I figured, well maybe that was a fluke so I did the same thing for the next exam 96% and all the way through the term I did the same thing and I ended up with an A- for the term. I continued to do it with the second term and got the same results and did the same with Statistics and got the same results. Now, I tell everyone I meet who’s having problems with math or math anxiety “Do all your homework 3 times” and they all give me positive feedback on the method…. See, here’s the thing: math is not an interpretive endeavor – it is a series of logical steps that you must take or you will not get the results you need. Repetition ingrains the steps in your memory so that when you see a specific problem you recognize the pattern and employ the steps you need to take to get the required results. I recommend this method for anybody who needs to pass but will never use algebra in their chosen career. Get the grade and move on!

    Report this comment

    Mahtoska  
    • loriann12
      Posted on November 2, 2012 at 5:23pm

      I was on the math team in high shool, and did very well. Slept through algebra my freshman year and got a B….then in my 40′s I developed epilepsy and now math gives me a seizure, literally. Must be the part of my brain that shorts out….

      Report this comment

      loriann12  
    • tajloc
      Posted on November 3, 2012 at 9:02am

      You make a good point. Practice is always good. Coaches say “if you don’t like practice go to another sport.” Hard to do with math in the 7th grade.
      And this blog seems to be focusing on the older students and higher math. Love (or fear) of math is worked out in the young ages. In my youth we practiced much more than texts and teachers (I am one) require today. When you get familiarity with numbers they seem enjoyable.
      Don’t give out M&M’s for a good answer. Math is self rewarding. Use puzzles… there are tons of easy ones. Do your homework 3X (that X is not an unknown it is an operation).
      AND don’t forget five out of four people cannot do fractions.

      Report this comment

      tajloc  
  • Twobyfour
    Posted on November 2, 2012 at 3:34pm

    No pain, no gain.

    And yes, it’s teachers, Monk. Some of them barely understand math and teach from a textbook. Math is not taught but elucidated.

    Report this comment

    Twobyfour  
  • Anonymous T. Irrelevant
    Posted on November 2, 2012 at 2:55pm

    I agree, it’s the teachers. I didn’t have to take algebra in high school, but I did have to take it in college. I failed the first time around, but then went o tutoring and the person there explained it to me in a way that made sense to me. It was easy after that. Public speaking is probably the most feared and painful for most everyone.

    Report this comment

    Anonymous T. Irrelevant  
    • Eastinfection
      Posted on November 2, 2012 at 5:05pm

      See… that’s funny A.T. …

      I can address any crowd effortlessly… but doing math gives me intense anxiety..

      Report this comment

      Eastinfection  
  • Voter713
    Posted on November 2, 2012 at 2:39pm

    Math for me in high school was extremely painful. I failed algebra1, algebra2, and geometry! Though I passed algebra 1 &2 in summer school with flying colors. Geometry – well my teacher took pity and passed me with a 70 just so I could graduate. Now my brother could practically write a math book – he was a wiz at math. I hate it- still do. Its like learning another language.

    Report this comment

    Voter713  
  • voting-for-romney
    Posted on November 2, 2012 at 2:31pm

    Yeah, try living with the pain of not using math? So what exactly is the point of this story, if you don’t live with the pain of exercise, you will never experience all you can be?

    Good grief, while Americans and their care less parents try to coddle their children from experiencing any pain, I knew a class mate in the 9th grade, who, with the help of his father that gave a gosh darn golly gee a lot, understood and was taking calculus?

    Guess what country he was from? India? Why was he in America? Because of the violence, because of the society and class system, which is what path the American system is heading for if it abandons the US Constitution? So yes, we can understand Russians, we can understand Pakistan, and we can understand those that hail from India?

    While some of you are worrying about Jay Zee, others are learning Calculus, and they are the ones that are going to be running the banks and budgets of the future?

    The pain of not using math, is a whole lot more painful, than using it, and this story did not succeed in allowing us to forget that important lesson?

    Report this comment

    voting-for-romney  
  • The-Monk
    Posted on November 2, 2012 at 2:18pm

    I had trouble with math all through school. Then I met a physicist that showed me the the secrets of math. He was a really good teacher. Math is simple now.

    It’s not math that is the issue…… it’s the teachers.

    Report this comment

    The-Monk  
  • RealManDad
    Posted on November 2, 2012 at 1:56pm

    ‘Picture yourself in a student’

    Now that I’m done laughing . . . I’m ready to do some electoral math! Can’t wait to tune into MSNBC to watch the moaning and gnashing of teeth on Tuesday!

    Report this comment

    RealManDad  
  • DallyWama
    Posted on November 2, 2012 at 1:46pm

    I’m probably an oddball, but I get all warm and fuzzy over math. Love it!

    Report this comment

    DallyWama  
    • The0bserver
      Posted on November 3, 2012 at 4:09am

      I agree with you Dallywama. I found math beautiful, especially calculus and differential equations. I thought the calculus concept of ‘limits’ was very cool. Too bad people don’t like to think. I found math fun. We wouldn’t have computers without it. It was a mathematician who came up with the idea of computers. Math is the purest of the sciences because it makes as few assumptions as possible. Everything is proven from a very limited set of properties, axioms, or assumptions; for example, one can add in any order; it’s unproveable, but accepted as true because we haven’t found a case where it is not true. Assumptions are kept to a bare minimum. All other sciences stray into increasing degrees of opinion, whether they admit it or not. The order of most ‘scientific’ to least is something like: math, physics, chemistry, biology, social sciences (sociology, psychology, on so on.) Weather and climate is somewhere in the list, maybe after chemistry or biology. If you think about it, most of these subjects require one or more of the preceding subjects.) The more assumptions that are made, the less scientific, but this viewpoint may just be the smugness of mathematicians, because we are the purest of scientists. ;-) Anyway, I found math to be fun and full of adventure. (Sorry, I got carried away. I told you I like the subject!)

      Report this comment

      The0bserver  
  • kung
    Posted on November 2, 2012 at 1:45pm

    It’s not just math. Writing and public speaking are a couple other activities that stress many people out.

    Report this comment

    kung  
  • Fubared
    Posted on November 2, 2012 at 1:37pm

    Under the ADA, many Paulbots can now go out on a claim and suck up ssi. Math again.

    Report this comment

    Fubared  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on November 2, 2012 at 1:34pm

    Obama’s math is certainly painful to me.

    Report this comment

    Gonzo  

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