ArticleBMC psychology2026
How mathematics anxiety relates to mathematical ability in AI agent-supported instruction: the moderating role of executive function.
Article in BMC psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Mathematical ability is widely recognized as a core indicator of students' cognitive development and academic achievement. However, in classroom environments where artificial intelligence (AI)-supported instruction is increasingly integrated into routine teaching practices, how mathematics anxiety shapes the development of mathematical ability over time remains insufficiently understood. To address this gap, this study examines the longitudinal relationship between state mathematics anxiety and mathematical ability among primary school students in AI agent-supported instructional contexts, with particular attention to the moderating role of executive function. Using a convenience sampling approach, a total of 494 students from Grades 1, 3, and 5 participated in routine AI agent-supported mathematics instruction over a six-month period, with AI-supported lessons implemented approximately twice per week on average. A two-wave longitudinal design was adopted, and cross-lagged panel analysis was conducted to examine the directional relationships between the key variables. The results indicated an asymmetric relationship, in which mathematics anxiety significantly predicted subsequent mathematical ability, while the reverse effect was not supported. Specifically, higher levels of mathematics anxiety predicted subsequent declines in overall mathematical ability, mathematical computation ability, and logical-spatial ability, whereas prior mathematical ability and its subdimensions did not significantly predict later mathematics anxiety. In addition, executive function moderated the relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematical ability outcomes in a domain-specific manner. Higher levels of executive function strengthened the negative association between mathematics anxiety and both overall mathematical ability and mathematical computation ability, but not logical-spatial ability. A similar pattern was observed for inhibitory control, whereas working memory and cognitive flexibility did not show significant moderating effects. This study contributes new longitudinal evidence on students' mathematical development in AI agent-supported classrooms and advances current understanding of how mathematics anxiety and executive function jointly shape learning outcomes, while also informing the design of more responsive instructional support.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.