The Relationship Between Cognitive Activation and Math Anxiety in Japan: Moderating Roles of Socioeconomic Status and Math Self-Efficacy

Math anxiety is a widespread phenomenon that negatively affects students’ motivation and achievement. While previous studies have shown that cognitive activation—instructional strategies that promote deep reasoning and metacognitive reflection—can reduce math anxiety, few have examined the possibility of nonlinear effects or the roles of socioeconomic status (SES) and self-efficacy as moderators. This study investigated the curvilinear relationship between cognitive activation and math anxiety and the interactions with student and school SES revealed compensatory patterns, using data from 5,760 students in Japan from the PISA 2022 dataset. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that cognitive activation for encouraging mathematical thinking was initially associated with reduced math anxiety, but the effect plateaued at higher levels. Cognitive activation for fostering reasoning showed a negligible curvilinear relationship. Moreover, student and school SES showed patterns suggesting that cognitive activation may serve as a compensatory strategy, particularly for students in low-SES contexts. Math self-efficacy, contrary to expectations, did not moderate the relationship. These findings underscore the importance of promoting cognitively activating instruction that supports deep mathematical thinking, especially for students with limited educational resources.