Affective Domain - The Self Factor, Such As Personality, Perception

From the affective perspective, Bush (1991) commented that mathematics anxiety arises from a climate in which negative attitudes and anxiety are transmitted from adults to children.  McMillan (1976) found that teachers’ attitude and enthusiasm toward a subject had greater impact on student attitudes than instructional variables.

Lazarus (1974) and Wilhelm and Brooks (1980) added that negative parental attitudes may be transmitted to their children and that parents often reinforce their children’s mathematics anxiety. It could be very difficult for students to like mathematics when their parents did not do well in mathematics themselves, and thus do not understand it or do not think it is important.

Students could see their parents as having a job and doing well without a great love for mathematics and think that they will be successful without an appreciation of mathematics as well.

 Students with low achievement in mathematics usually those with low self esteem and slow learner, easily giving-up, dislike of being challenged, low confidence and self blaming for poor mathematics performance.