Influence of math anxiety on the performance of arithmetic operations at unconscious level

Math anxiety (MA) is associated with concern and fear about mathematical tasks. The aim of the study was to investigate the electrophysiological correlates of conscious and unconscious processes during the performance of mathematical operations depending on the level of mathematical anxiety. Participants were presented with addition problems followed by correct and incorrect answers. Participants with low level of MA demonstrated significantly more positive amplitude of event-related potentials when presented with the correct answer compared to the incorrect one in the interval from 200–300 ms after the solution presentation onset (N400/P300 wave), both in the conscious (unmasked presentation) and unconscious perception blocks (masked presentation). In the group of participants with high level of MA, such a difference was observed only in the conscious perception condition. Additionally, participants with high level of MA showed a significant difference between correct and incorrect answers in the interval from 450–650 ms during unconscious perception of problems, indicating the presence of an arithmetic effect in the late positive component (LPC) wave. Thus, the obtained results may indicate the predominant use of procedural strategies when solving simple problems by participants with a high level of MA. Participants with a low level of MA demonstrate correlates of automatic retrieval of the answer directly from long-term memory even with unconscious perception of stimuli.