Source: https://www3.nd.edu/~rwilliam/xsoc530/attitudes.

html

Content: Attitudes
Attitude = a favorable or unfavorable evaluative reaction toward something or someone, exhibited in
ones beliefs, feelings, or intended behavior (Myers, p. 36). It is a social orientation - an underlying
inclination to respond to something either favorably or unfavorably.

Components of attitudes.
a. Cognitive - our thoughts, beliefs, and ideas about something. When a human being is the object of an
attitude, the cognitive component is frequently a stereotype, e.g. "welfare recipients are lazy"
b. Affective - feelings or emotions that something evokes. e.g. fear, sympathy, hate. May dislike welfare
recipients.
c. Conative, or behavioral - tendency or disposition to act in certain ways toward something. Might want
to keep welfare recipients out of our neighborhood. Emphasis is on the tendency to act, not the actual
acting; what we intend and what we do may be quite different.

II. Theories of attitude formation and change.

1. Functionalist theory. Daniel Katz proposed a functionalist theory of attitudes. He takes the view that
attitudes are determined by the functions they serve for us. People hold given attitudes because these
attitudes help them achieve their basic goals. Katz distinguishes four types of psychological functions
that attitudes meet.
A. Instrumental - we develop favorable attitudes towards things that aid or reward us. We want to
maximize rewards and minimize penalties. Katz says we develop attitudes that help us meet this goal.
We favor political parties that will advance our economic lot - if we are in business, we favor the party
that will keep our taxes low, if unemployed we favor one that will increase social welfare benefits. We
are more likely to change our attitudes if doing so allows us to fulfill our goals or avoid undesirable
consequences.
B. Knowledge - attitudes provide meaningful, structured environment. In life we seek some degree of
order, clarity, and stability in our personal frame of reference. Attitudes help supply us with standards of
evaluation. Via such attitudes as stereotypes, we can bring order and clarity to the complexities of
human life.
C. Value-expressive - Express basic values, reinforce self-image. EX: if you view yourself as a Catholic,
you can reinforce that image by adopting Catholic beliefs and values. EX: We may have a self-image of
ourselves as an enlightened conservative or a militant radical, and we therefore cultivate attitudes that
we believe indicate such a core value.
D. Ego-defensive - Some attitudes serve to protect us from acknowledging basic truths about ourselves
or the harsh realities of life. They serve as defense mechanisms. EX: Those with feelings of inferiority
may develop attitude of superiority.
Katz's functionalist theory also offers an explanation as to why attitudes change. According to Katz, an
attitude changes when it no longer serves its function and the individual feels blocked or frustrated. That
is, according to Katz, attitude change is achieved not so much by changing a person's information or
perception about an object, but rather by changing the person's underlying motivational and personality
needs.
EX: As your social status increases, your attitudes toward your old car may change - you need something
that better reflects your new status. (For that matter, your attitudes toward your old friends may change
as well).
2. Learning theory (which stresses attitude formation). There are several means by which we learn
attitudes.
a. Classical conditioning. EX: A father angrily denounces the latest increase in income taxes. A mother
happily announces the election of a candidate she worked for. These parents are expressing opinions,
but they are also displaying nonverbal behavior that expresses their emotions. For a child watching the
parents, the association between the topic and the nonverbal behavior will become obvious if repeated
often enough. And the nonverbal behavior will trigger emotional responses in the child: the child feels
upset and disturbed when listening to the father and happy when listening to the mother.
This is an example of classical conditioning: when two stimuli are repeatedly associated, the child learns
to respond to them with a similar emotional reaction. In this case, the stimuli are the attitude topic and
the parental emotion. Through repeated association, a formerly neutral stimulus (the attitude topic -
taxes or politicians) begins to elicit an emotional reaction (the response) that was previously solicited
only by another stimulus (the parental emotion). Whenever tax increases are mentioned, the child feels
an unpleasant emotion; when the elected official is mentioned, the child feels a pleasant emotion.
EX: Pavlov's dogs. Bell was rung when dogs received food. Food made dogs salivate. Then whenever a
bell was rung, dogs salivated even when food was not present.
EX: When you were a child, parents may have cheered for N.D. football. You may not have even known
what N.D. football was, but you liked your parents happy attitude. Now N.D. football evokes that same
response in you.
EX: Men with bow ties. Meet a bad man who wears bow ties, and you may come to hate all bow ties.
COMMENT: This explains why behaviors can persist even after reinforcement is withdrawn. Also helps
explain self-reinforcement.

b. Instrumental, or operant, conditioning. Behaviors or attitudes that are followed by positive

consequences are reinforced and are more likely to be repeated than are behaviors and attitudes that
are followed by negative consequences.
EX: People agree with your opinion.

c. Observational learning. Children watch the behavior of people around them and imitate what they
see. EX: If a young girl hears her mother denounce all elected officials as crooks, she may repeat that
opinion in class the next day. Whether she continues to repeat that opinion depends on the responses
of her classmates, teacher, and parents. That is, observations determine the responses we learn, but
reinforcement determines the responses we express.

3. Cognitive dissonance theory - stresses attitude change - and that behaviors can determine attitudes.
A. Defn: Cognition = individuals perception of own attitudes, beliefs, behaviors. Cognitive dissonance =
feelings of tension that arise when one is simultaneously aware of two inconsistent cognitions. For
example, when we act contrary to our attitudes; or, when we make a decision favoring one alternative
despite reasons favoring another.
B. Consistency theories hypothesize that, should inconsistencies develop among cognitions, people are
motivated to restore harmony.
C. Key propositions of dissonance theory
1. Dissonance theory says relationships among two cognitions can be either consonant, dissonant,
irrelevant
2. Cognitive dissonance is a noxious state. It produces unpleasant physical arousal.
3. Individual will attempt to reduce or eliminate dissonance - and will try to avoid things that increase
dissonance.
EX: Selective observation.
4. Cognitive dissonance can be reduced or eliminated only by (a) adding new cognitions, or (b) changing
existing ones.
EX: Can change our minds. Decide we were wrong.
EX: Can "make up" information, as in the "When prophesy fails" example.
EX: We may seek new information that can restore consonance.
EX: Try to discredit source of dissonance in some way - either by making up info or seeking counter-
evidence.

D. Sources of dissonance
1. Informational inconsistency. Receive information that contradicts what they already know or believe.
EX: Suppose you believe George Bush did not know about Iran-Contra - and then suppose Oliver North
testified that he was the mastermind behind it. (Real life example: some Iranians are said to believe
George Bush did head up Iran-Contra, since he used to be head of the CIA and they think the CIA runs
the country.)

2. Disconfirmed expectations. People prepare themselves for an event that never occurs - or even
worse, an event whose opposite occurs. EX: You expect to do well on an exam, and you don't.
EX: When prophesy fails. In 1955, Marian Keech predicted that a great flood was going to destroy the
Western Hemisphere on Dec. 21. She said she got her information from the planet Clarion. She attracted
a band of followers, and received further messages about how the faithful could save themselves.
Midnight of the big day came and passed, and nothing happened. At 4:45 a.m., they received a
Christmas message informing them that because of their commitment and faithfulness, the earth had
been spared.
Q: How did the followers behave, both before and after the event?
Prior to the big day, they were very secretive, and shunned publicity. After the big day, they called the
media, sent out press releases, and recruited new followers. Why?
Many of these people had quit their jobs, and broken up with their spouses and friends, based on a
belief that had been disconfirmed. This produced dissonance. They couldn't deny their past beliefs - they
couldn't say the flood had occurred - they couldn't deny they had quit their jobs. They could have
decided they were mistaken, but that would create dissonance with other cognitions, such as their being
intelligent people. hence, they convinced themselves they were right all along, and their faithfulness had
saved the world. Further, if they could convince others to adopt their views, this would affirm their
sense that their views were correct.

3. Insufficient justification for behavior. People do things which they lack justification for.
EX: In a classic Festinger experiment, subjects were given a peg board and told to carefully turn each peg
1/4 turn. Then, after doing all the pegs, they were told to turn them another 1/4 turn. Later they had to
carefully remove each peg, and then put them all back. After an hour, they were told they were done.
The experimenter then said "We are comparing the performance of subjects who are briefed in advance
with those who are not briefed in advance. You did not receive a briefing. The next subject is supposed
to be briefed, but my assistance who usually does this couldn't come to work today." Subjects were then
asked to tell the next student the task was fun and exciting, and were offered either $1 or $20 for doing
so. Those who only got paid a $1 were more likely to report they thought the task was interesting,
because they lacked a strong justification for their actions.
4. Postdecision dissonance - after every decision, you feel dissonance because you have rejected some
good things and accepted some bad. We tend to become more certain of decisions afterwards.
EX: Bettors approached after they had placed bets at the racetrack were more sure of their choices than
those approached before placing bets.
NOTE: This does not mean we never regret a decision. Disconfirmed expectations, new information, or
whatever may cause us feel we made a mistake. However, until these new events/information or
whatever comes along, we will tend to feel more confident about our decision. Obviously, in the case of
the racetrack example, people may have felt more confident after they placed their bets, but after the
race was run a lot of them probably didn't feel so confident anymore!

E. Not all inconsistencies result in cognitive dissonance. How is inconsistency possible?

1. Cognitions may not be important to the individual - hence inconsistency does not produce discomfort.
2. Cognitions may not come in contact with each other - contradictions can go unnoticed. Behavior may
be mindless. EX: We might enjoy a national park - without realizing we are overtaxing it.
NOTE: The following relate primarily to counterattitudinal behavior.
3. Aversive consequences are not perceived. In order for cognitive dissonance to occur, a product must
result from the counterattitudinal behavior. That product is the bringing about, or possible occurrence,
of an aversive event. Aversive event = something that goes against your self interest, or that you would
rather not have occur.
EX: In a variation of the boring tasks experiment, some subjects were led to believe they had actually
deceived their fellow student, while others thought they had not deceived them. Only those who
thought they had succeeded experienced dissonance.
EX: In another variation, subjects were led to like or dislike the other student. The only subjects who
changed their attitude about the task were those who successfully convinced a student they liked.
Note that the consequences need not actually occur; it is the subjects perceptions that the
consequences will result from their actions that is important.

4. Person must feel personally responsible. If the person feels that environmental forces caused the
action, or that the unwanted events were unforeseeable, they won't feel dissonance. How voluntary is
the behavior? Were the consequences foreseeable. Note that foreseeable is not the same as foreseen -
if you could have foreseen it but didn't, you can feel dissonance.

We close with a commonly proposed alternative to dissonance theory.

4. Bem's Self-perception theory. Says we infer our attitudes from our behavior. There is no tension,
rather, behavior just serves an informative purpose. We calmly observe our behavior, and draw
reasonable inferences from it, just as we do when observing other people.
EX: In the Festinger experiment, those who got $20 would assume their behavior was forced by the
environment. Those who only got $1 would assume they did what they did because what they said was
true.
EX: Bem showed that the results of cognitive dissonance experiments could be replicated quite well by
observers. People read descriptions of the procedures, and predicted people's attitudes correctly.
EX: "I must have really been tired, I slept a long time."
"I must not like him, I was really rude to him."
"I must really like this course, I studied really hard for the exam."
It is hard to choose between self-perception and cognitive dissonance theory since both usually make
the same predictions. However, there is evidence that, as c. d. theory predicts, physiological arousal
(that is, tension) accompanies dissonance conditions. Further, when arousal is eliminated (through the
use of drugs or alcohol), attitude change does not occur.
On the other hand, self-perception can explain some things dissonance can't. For example, when people
are suddenly rewarded for doing something they did before just because they liked it, they can come to
like it less.
EX: (From Myers): Child was reading 6-8 books a week. Library then started a reading club which
promised a party to those who read 10 books in three months. Child started checking out only 1 or 2
books a week. Why? "Because you only need to read 10 books."
Myers suggests dissonance theory successfully explains what happens when we act contrary to our
clearly defined attitudes. We feel tension, so we adjust our attitudes to reduce it. Dissonance explains
attitude change. When attitudes aren't well-formed, self-perception theory explains attitude formation
that occurs as we act and reflect. (I think he may be right about the latter point, but I'm not so sure
about the first.) Key thing, then, is how discrepant is the behavior with the attitude.

III. Real world applications

a. Racism. It has often been said you can't legislate morality. Yet, changes in civil rights laws and policies
have been accompanied by changes in attitudes. Since Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954, the
percentage of white Americans favoring integrated schools has more than doubled. Since Civil rights act
of 1964, the percentage of white Americans who described their neighborhoods, friends, co-workers, or
fellow students as all white declined by 20 percent for each of these measures. Possible explanations:
1. Disconfirmed expectations. Predicted calamities did not occur.
2. Information inconsistent with previous beliefs led to attitude change.
3. People were forced to behave in a counter-attitudinal manner. People who said they would not
comply with laws did. Ergo, they reasoned blacks must not be so bad.
4. Racist attitudes became non-instrumental, because of the high costs of violating laws. You had to
interact with blacks, so you might as well like them.
5. Value-expressive - racism became inconsistent with the images most people like to hold, so they
adopted anti-racist attitudes.
b. Suppose you wanted a friend to support a political candidate. What might you do?
1. Get them to do some small task as a favor to you. Counter-attitudinal actions might influence
attitudes; exposure to dissonant info might change their minds; classical or instrumental condition could
take place - they receive praise for working for the candidate, which leads to positive attitudes.
2. If friend is for another candidate - provide them with dissonant info. Point out candidate is weak in
areas friend likes him.
3. What if friend doesn't change his mind? This could occur because (a) friend discredits the source of
the info - you (b) instead of liking the candidate, friend could decide he doesn't like you.

Source: https://attitudes101.wordpress.com/theories-of-attitude-formation/
Content: Theories of Attitude Formation
1. Learning Theory
– Can explain a wide range of phenomena from conditioned fears to the acquisition of sex roles to the
development of personality traits.
Classical Conditioning
– Creates an affective, or emotional component in an attitude by pairing products with stimuli
that elicit pleasant emotional responses
Operant Conditioning
-Openly expresses an attitude
-Agreement from others functions as a reinforce
-Disagreement from others functions as a form of punishment
Observational Learning
-Parents and children have similar political attitudes
_______________________________________________
2. Dissonance Theory
– Created by Festinger
– Asserts that inconsistent attitudes cause tension
– People alter their attitudes to reduce cognitive dissonance
– Cognitive dissonance: exists when related cognitions are inconsistent (that is when, when they
contradict each other)
– Creates unpleasant state of tension that motivates people to reduce their dissonance
– Used to explain attitude change following counter attitudinal behavior and efforts that haven’t
planned out
– Results can be explained by self perception theory which states that people may infer their attitudes
from their behavior
_______________________________________________
3. Self Perception Theory
– Explains why people can come to believe their own lies
– People infer their attitudes from their behavior
– Self perception is at work primarily when subjects do not have well defined attitudes regarding the
issue at hand
_______________________________________________
4. Elaboration Likelihood Model
-The central route to persuasion tends to yield longer lasting attitude change than the peripheral route

Source: http://nelcadelina.blogspot.com/2006/10/ten-reasons-why-students-hate-math.html
Content: Reasons Why Students Hate Math
1. They encounter during their elementary and high school math teachers who are semi-literate, or who
teach their pupils the wrong things, or who are just one chapter ahead of their pupils in digesting the
book they are in teaching.

2. Teachers traumatized students by giving them instant quiz or exam when some students misbehave,
thereby giving a signal that Math equates punishment. This make the pupils or students hate Math and
develop dyscalculia (fear in math).

3. They were given Math textbooks that are ineffectual which often pose problems. You can detect
textbook that will make pupils hate the subjects when you find on that book movement from one skill or
topic to another is too quick; there is no chapter outline, no exercises or if there are its limited in variety,
no chapter examination and do not provide answers to that chapter examination.

4. Teachers did not correlate math to real-life situations. Instead of getting high grades, teacher’s should
encourage independent thinking like: giving and receiving correct change, balancing a checkbook, using
scales, estimating the amount of gas needed to travel a certain distance, and the like. Use of play
money, toy clocks, blocks of different shapes should supplement the textbook.

5. Teachers assign the same work to everyone in the class. They should remember the principle of bell
curve wherein 2/3 of the class may understand Math while the 1/3 are frustrated from trying to solve
the impossible.

6. Pupils or Students felt that they are not love by their Math teachers. After years of handling students,
I can conclude that students perform well mainly based on their perception of the teacher. If the pupils
or students were treated as morons and slow learners which the teacher reinforced almost everyday
expect them to think that way. Math teachers, love your students.

7. Pupils or students are not allowed to solve each problem in a different way. Let us accept the fact that
in mathemetics, though an exact science, we encounter pupils or students who solve Math problems
creatively. Cheer them!

8. Teachers teach math only by the book, problem by problem, page by page then we asked why they
are bored. Be creative, like integrate math and music, sing while teaching addition!

9. Teachers make Math difficult when in fact it can be taught in a simplest way possible. Strengthen the
basic, illustrate laws and principles and use everyday life situations.

10. Pupils or students can detect Math teachers who do not enjoy what they are doing. Since enjoyment
is contagious, we can see students enjoying math if their teacher enjoys teaching it. If the students know
that the teacher is fooling them, they will think that Math is a joke, a real big joke.

Sign of having problems in Mathematics amongst the students

A student with problems in mathematics may shows one or more of the following below:

I. unable to recall basic mathematics rules, or formulas even the teachers have explain
repeatedly
II. having difficulties in understanding mathematical work and spend long time in learning
simple topics
III. Very low esteem which can seen from their handwriting which is hard to read.
IV. Have difficulties in remembering previously encountered questions which have been
attempted many times before.
V. Have problem in recall what have been taught in previous class
VI. Not confident, hesitate and forget what he or she is doing in the middle of a math
problem
VII. Have difficulty with the language of mathematics and easily being confused.
VIII. The students do not know when/how to use the correct theorem/formula for
mathematical problems.
IX. Easily lost direction or concentration whiles the teachers teaching in front.
X. Have difficulty explaining and communicating about mathematics, including asking and
answering questions.
XI. Escape or absent from class, late submitting homework and fail in mathematics are one
of the most common behavior of problematic students towards mathematics.
Read more: http://www.ukessays.com/essays/mathematics/dislike-of-mathematics-amongst-
secondary-students.php#ixzz3YmQ00KjA

The factors that make students dislike Mathematics

A. Sequential in nature.

Mathematics is sequential in nature. That means that when we learn one concept , knowledge or
skill, it will be needed in another topics. This is basically true when students who have not
mastered a preceding skill have difficulty in learning new work. Students might feel discourage
by this continuous learning and exhausted throughout the process. Obviously, students who have
strong basic knowledge will be able to do mathematics problem much faster compare to students
who are not.

Students find math to be hard is because it is usually not taught correctly, and it is usually not
studied correctly. Mathematics needs to be learned step by step, topic by topic. If a student does
not completely understand a particular topic, there is no point in moving on to a harder topic that
requires knowledge of the first topic.

It is typical in Brunei, there is very little time to review back the old materials in school. It is up
to the student to recognize if the students do not fully understand a particular topic, and to go for
tutoring. In most cases, this doesn't happen, and the student gradually becomes more and more
confused and discouraged.

Read more: http://www.ukessays.com/essays/mathematics/dislike-of-mathematics-amongst-

secondary-students.php#ixzz3YmQ8XjKF

1. UKEssays
2. Essays
3. Mathematics
4. Dislike Of Mathematics Amongst Secondary Students

Dislike of mathematics amongst secondary

students
DISLIKE OF MATHEMATICS AMONGST SECONDARY STUDENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

Why do kids, students and adults seem dislike mathematics? It is quite common for small
children to say “I love numbers”. Do they really know exactly what mathematics is?

We always see small children counting numbers from 1 to 10, even sing a song make up from
the numbers. But what happen to these children as they grow up? What make them to change
their mind to dislike mathematics? Some will roll their eyes or let out a sigh. They give so many
reasons, such as “It's too hard,” “I'm not good at math,” or “why do I even need Mathematics?”
Where does this attitude come from?

After being a Mathematics teacher for about 3 years, I have discovered that almost all students in
Brunei Darussalam claimed to “hate mathematics”. This can be seen from their attitude in the
class, interaction with the teacher and also the students' progress report. The very much sad thing
is that students just want to pass the examination without understanding why they have to study
mathematics. Still mathematics has the highest failure rate of any subject at school-leaving level.
Why does mathematics seem to inspire fear and intimidation in students in secondary schools
and even when they are in the higher level.

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In my childhood, I still remember is that I was not taught how to study mathematics. Like any
subject the study of mathematics becomes a pile of information. But if you are taught how to
study mathematics then you will never find this problematic. Mathematics cannot be taught one
way. Students always stick to the method being taught without seeking the alternative way of the
working. These kinds of attitude make mathematics become “strict to the rule method”.

One funny culture about students in Brunei, it is an “honor” for them to admit they are not good
in mathematics, but who would ever admit to NOT being able to Read? This has been passing
from generations. Math is an essential subject to maintain our modern way of life. Without
mathematics, not much would be possible. So why is it acceptable to become a failure at
mathematics? They believe that mathematics only belongs to gifted or genius who wants to
become a mathematics teacher, doctor, professor, engineer and lots more.
2. Real Scenario in Brunei

From my previous experience as a Mathematics teacher, students in Brunei especially weak

classes, tend to show their unwillingness at the start of the lesson. Students still keep wandering
around during teacher presence in front .Students are expected to be ready for lesson the moment
the teacher steps into the classroom. Textbooks, exercise books and any materials as required by
the teacher are to be placed on their desks.

Action is usually taken on persistent students who always forget to bring their learning materials,
the purpose, which is to teach and instill self-responsibility in the students. However, there are
also some students who do not care about the warning given by the class teacher.

First task when teaching a class is to correctly understand the students' background, their
expectations from the course and their willingness to do the required efforts. May be this can be
done by conducting a survey or simply just ask them personally.

At the beginning of the lesson, for upper secondary level, students will find the topics quite new
for them. It is quite a common scene to see students lost their direction at the beginning of the
lesson. It is the job of the teacher to interact with them and try to relate the topics to everyday
life. What I can say here, the level of ignorance of the students very high towards the subject
Mathematics. Students who show interest in studying Mathematics at the beginning of the lesson
may also somehow lost their direction as the teacher goes deeper into the subject matter.

Students are also required to submit their homework on time. Usually, I begin the lesson by
reviewing the homework that has been set during the previous class. Some students do not
submit due to difficulties that the students have. Generally teachers are very strict with deadlines
for the submission of homework.

Overall, there is always a sentiment of anti-mathematics in every class that I taught which can be
seen from all aspects of the students. In the next pages, I will explain more on the factors that
rise up this critical issue of mathematics.

Source: http://www.ukessays.com/essays/mathematics/dislike-of-mathematics-amongst-secondary-
students.php
Content: Sign of having problems in Mathematics amongst the students
A student with problems in mathematics may shows one or more of the following below:
unable to recall basic mathematics rules, or formulas even the teachers have explain repeatedly
having difficulties in understanding mathematical work and spend long time in learning simple topics
Very low esteem which can seen from their handwriting which is hard to read.
Have difficulties in remembering previously encountered questions which have been attempted many
times before.
Have problem in recall what have been taught in previous class
Not confident, hesitate and forget what he or she is doing in the middle of a math problem
Have difficulty with the language of mathematics and easily being confused.
The students do not know when/how to use the correct theorem/formula for mathematical problems.
Easily lost direction or concentration whiles the teachers teaching in front.
Have difficulty explaining and communicating about mathematics, including asking and answering
questions.
Escape or absent from class, late submitting homework and fail in mathematics are one of the most
common behavior of problematic students towards mathematics.
4. The factors that make students dislike Mathematics
A. Sequential in nature.
Mathematics is sequential in nature. That means that when we learn one concept , knowledge or skill, it
will be needed in another topics. This is basically true when students who have not mastered a
preceding skill have difficulty in learning new work. Students might feel discourage by this continuous
learning and exhausted throughout the process. Obviously, students who have strong basic knowledge
will be able to do mathematics problem much faster compare to students who are not.
Students find math to be hard is because it is usually not taught correctly, and it is usually not studied
correctly. Mathematics needs to be learned step by step, topic by topic. If a student does not completely
understand a particular topic, there is no point in moving on to a harder topic that requires knowledge
of the first topic.
It is typical in Brunei, there is very little time to review back the old materials in school. It is up to the
student to recognize if the students do not fully understand a particular topic, and to go for tutoring. In
most cases, this doesn't happen, and the student gradually becomes more and more confused and
discouraged.
This essay is an example of a student's work
Disclaimer
This essay has been submitted to us by a student. This is not an example of the work written by our
professional essay writers.
Another problem is that students are promoted from one grade to the next, even if they are not at all
close to being ready for the next grade's work. There are a variety of reasons why this happens, none of
which are the focus of this editorial, but I'll just say that until we stop pushing kids into classes that they
aren't ready for, the education crisis in this country will continue and get worse.
Mathematics is a subject that requires a tremendous amount of thought and patience. Weak students
typically rush through their mathematics homework, and declare it to be "done," The students not even
check the working properly and not even thought of the answer. The following day in school, the
teacher will review the homework very quickly, and then just move on to a new topic.
B. One answer concept
Mathematics is an exact subject. Normally, students in Brunei will take 8 subjects during their secondary
level and Mathematics is the only subject that requires long working but yet only one acceptable
answer. Many students have trouble with the exactness of mathematics. For them, what is wrong is
always wrong and vice versa.
Students always thought that “Doing mathematics means getting one right answer,” “Mathematics is a
collection of rules, theorems, and procedures to be memorized,” and “Teaching math involves working
through the textbook page by page and assigning drill exercises from the workbooks or worksheets for
practice.” As a result of belief in these myths, many students are convinced that they cannot do math.
Students are very fragile at this stage, they rather concentrate on the subjects that not required drilling
like mathematics and give up mathematics. But the students do not know that mathematics can become
more interesting as they go further, mathematics is not just getting the right answer.
C. Math Phobia
“I'm not good at math”, “I hate math” or “math is too hard” are common phrases heard by teachers and
parents. One of the symptom is s/he does not want to do any class work. When the task is easy, s/he
tries to do the work but never completes the assignment. Sometimes, s/he gets frustrated and says that
s/he is stupid because she just doesn't understand math.
Anxious individuals may avoid mathematics classes, may be more likely to have negative attitudes
toward mathematic related activities. This type of students seems to suffer from math phobia also
known as math anxiety. Mathematics anxiety means the students fear that one won't be able to do the
math or the fear that it's too hard or the fear of failure. The students had very negative experiences in
her mathematics class that the students failed before. May be the previous teachers might have had
ignored this type of students that lead to lack self-efficacy.
D. Difficulty Transferring Knowledge(connection with reality)
One very common difficulty experienced by students with mathematics problems is the inability to
connect mathematics concept to the real world. In school, this can obviously be seen when we give
questions which involve loss and profit gain of purchasing products to the students. Only few of them
can deeply understand what is meant by loss and gain. The fear of mathematics makes them uneasy to
relate mathematics problems to their everyday life.
In ‘O' level Mathematics Examination, it is about 20 percent in paper 1 dealing with everyday life
mathematics and the students always fall into these tricky questions. They spend long time in solving
this and sometime to a halt. Students do not believe that directly proportion rules can be used in our life
when buying goods. What I try to say here is that, the students do not trust the power of mathematics
and how mathematics can benefit us.
Students usually are not aware that mathematics is everywhere in this world and it is unavoidable for
them to meet Math problems in the real world. Whenever they go to the shop, students normally do
not bring the knowledge they have gain in school with them. They thought that mathematics exist only
in school just for the sake of the examination.
E. Less motivation
The last but not least, students have less motivation when come to studying mathematics. The word
“lazy” is very common given to the students who do not submit their homework. Lengthy working and
long formula become a burden for them. Not all students who are weak in mathematics because they
have problems with the subject but due to lack of motivation from the teachers and also the parent.
It is quite common to encounter students who do badly in mathematics but excel in other subjects. In
some case, the students do give up in studying mathematics and even choose not to involve in the fields
that required Mathematics. There are also students who just escape the mathematics class just to avoid
this important subject.
Less motivation will lead the students to less confident in doing mathematics problem and as the days
goes by, they see mathematics as a subject that make the feel down.
F. Incomplete Understanding of the Language of Math
For some students, dislike of mathematics is driven by problems with language. These students may also
experience difficulty with reading, writing, and speaking. In mathematics, however, their language
problem is due to the topics itself example matrices, simultaneous equation, vector and some of which
they hear nowhere outside of the math classroom. These students have difficulty understanding written
or verbal directions or explanations.
5. How to overcome students who dislike mathematics
a) Teach basic concepts using concrete objects.
Let students learn mathematics in which they can feel and experience themselves. Learning probability
will become more interesting by allowing them using marbles, cards and colored balls. Students will
tend to remember more which help them to understand the concept easily.
b) Provide specialized materials.
As a teacher it is important to use correct materials for the students. For example, using graph paper will
help the students in drawing the axes and plotting the points. Scrap paper can also be used to encourage
the students to do working for every mathematics problems. Teachers should aware the students to be
more organize in doing there working and emphasize the important of discipline in mathematics.
c) Practice student-centered.
Ask the students the procedures they would like to use when solving a problem, and guide each
procedure for them. The interaction between students and teacher will somehow help in the learning
process. By doing this also, the teachers will know the weakness, the strength of each of the students
and the confusion they leading to.
d) Use cooperative math-problem-solving activities.
To overcome dislike of mathematics, teachers should give opportunities for students to work in groups
when solving math problems. The students will gradually gain their confidence by sharing their thinking
aloud as they solve problems.
e) Provide time for reviewingtheir work.
Teachers must emphasize that completing math assignments is a process. Encourage students to
become comfortable reviewing their work, making changes, or asking questions when they are unsure
of their answers.
f) Connect mathematics concept to the real-world.
Teacher must understand that mathematics is always a problem for students. By connecting
mathematics problems to the everyday used will be very helpful to the students. Students can easily
digest the mathematics concept and even apply to themselves. For example in studying statistics, we
can ask the students to make a case study of population in Brunei or how to use percentages to
understand the price of a jacket on sale at the mall or the amount of their allowance spent on snacks.
6. My conclusion
From my own understanding, with the widespread dislike of mathematics, it is not the job of educator
only but also the society on changing these negative attitudes. I suggest that teachers should focus on
improving the classroom affective environment and mentally motivate the students to foster positive
attitudes in mathematics. As a parent, they must understand that gaining knowledge is not only at
school but also need to be cultivated at home.