Endogenous and Exogenous Time Pressure: Interactions with Mathematics Anxiety in Explaining Arithmetic Performance

Eighty adults performed mental arithmetic under endogenous (time limit) or exogenous (presence of a clock) time pressure. Results demonstrated a significant interaction between math anxiety and endogenous pressure: error rates were significantly greater among high math anxious individuals when given a time limit. A significant interaction was observed between exogenous time pressure and math anxiety: performance of low math anxious individuals was reduced when a clock was present. Effects were only present in response to problems involving a carry operation, supporting previous findings that math anxiety may be particularly detrimental on math problems that rely more on working memory resources. The findings suggest that the type of time pressure may need to be taken into account when designing assessments.N/