Contemporary Educational Psychology 73 (2023) 102169

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Contemporary Educational Psychology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cedpsych

Examining the dynamics of mathematics anxiety, perceived cost, and

achievement: A control-value theory approach
Sherine Menella St Omer a, Sufen Chen a, *
a
Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, 43, Sec.4, Keelung Rd., Taipei, 106, Taiwan, ROC

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Concerns about the influence of students’ perceived negative consequences of engagement in a task (i.e., cost) on
Adolescents their emotions, motivation, and cognition have increased in the last decade. The use of longitudinal models is
Control-value theory needed to provide new insights into the role of perceived cost in mathematics learning. Grounded in the control-
Learning emotion
value theory, this study examined cross-lagged relations of mathematics anxiety, perceived cost, and mathe­
Longitudinal
Mathematics
matics achievement. The participants (N = 335) reported their mathematics anxiety and perceived cost four
Motivational belief times during Grades 7 and 8, and their mathematics grades were attained from their school records. Cross-lagged
panel model analysis revealed evidence of a long-term positive reciprocal relationship between mathematics
anxiety and effort/emotional cost, a gradually diminished relationship between effort/emotional cost and
mathematics performance, and a positive achievement to anxiety link during the transition between grade levels.
Moreover, mathematics performance is a distal predictor of mathematics anxiety through effort/emotional cost
rather than a proximal predictor or an outcome of anxiety. This study also clarified the distinction in the central
role of effort/emotional versus opportunity cost in the interrelatedness of mathematics anxiety and performance,
where the latter failed to demonstrate significant paths. Specific timing for interventions was discerned. Early
cost prevention interventions along with considerations of academic achievement to alleviate both anxiety and
perceived effort/emotional are highlighted as crucial for a positive high school mathematics experience.

1. Introduction
Mathematics capabilities form a foundation for future employment
opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) fields which engender a technology-savvy society with higher
wages (Suárez-Pellicioni et al., 2016). Yet, some adolescents enjoy
studying mathematics and perform exceptionally in the field, while
others may avoid it altogether. Research has acknowledged that certain
individual factors such as emotions and motivational beliefs influence
one’s mathematics performance. Pekrun’s control-value theory (CVT;
Pekrun, 2006; Pekrun et al., 2017; Pekrun & Perry, 2014) and Eccles and
colleagues’ expectancy-value theory (EVT; Eccles et al. 1983; Eccles &
Wigfield, 2020) are among the most influential theoretical frameworks
to conceptualize achievement emotions and achievement motivations,
respectively. The former suggests dynamic reciprocal linkages between
emotions, control and value appraisals, and achievement. The latter
posits that academic choices, engagement, and performance are influ­
enced by two main belief constructs: expectations of succeeding (i.e.,
ability beliefs and expectancy beliefs) and subjective task value (i.e.,
intrinsic value, attainment value, utility value, and cost). Both theories
underline task value beliefs and differentiate between intrinsic and
extrinsic values and how they predict achievement-related behaviors
along with emotions. Furthermore, within both theories, value judge­
ments have been found to be contingent on social factors such as the
learning environment in the CVT (Pekrun, 2006; Pekrun et al., 2017),
and cultural differences and individual factors such as age and matu­
ration in the EVT (Eccles & Wigfield, 2020).
Mathematics anxiety is a widely researched achievement emotion
(Barroso et al., 2021; Zhang et al., 2019). School-aged learners who
experience mathematics anxiety are less interested, motivated, and
confident in their mathematics abilities; thus, they may not only shy
away from mathematics majors but also careers in STEM, which are built
heavily on mathematics (Luttenberger et al., 2018; Ma & Xu, 2004;
Namkung et al., 2019; Suárez-Pellicioni et al., 2016). Likewise,
perceived cost was found to undermine intentions to remain in STEM
majors and STEM career aspirations (Perez et al., 2014; Watt et al.,
2019) and was associated with maladaptive behaviors (Jiang et al.,
2018). An understanding of how mathematics anxiety, perceived cost,

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: sufchen@mail.ntust.edu.tw (S. Chen).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2023.102169

Available online 3 March 2023

0361-476X/© 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
S.M. St Omer and S. Chen
and performance are interrelated would be of great practical and theo­
retical significance for mathematics educators.
Research has shown that anxiety and perceived cost are linked to
each other and to academic achievement. However, as a negative value
appraisal of the EVT, perceived cost has largely been understudied until
more recently (Barron & Hulleman, 2015; Flake et al., 2015; Jiang et al,
2020; Perez et al., 2014), with limited investigations of reciprocal re­
lations with anxiety and performance (St Omer et al., 2022). Also, CVT
proposes dynamic reciprocal linkages between emotions, control and
value appraisals, and achievement; yet, previous research has concen­
trated on exploring an antecedents-emotions-consequences link with
appraisals of control and value as antecedents and performance as
consequences (Pekrun, 2006; Pekrun & Perry, 2014). The studies
examining the relation among these variables are mostly cross-sectional
in nature (Frenzel et al., 2007; Henschel & Roick, 2017; Peixoto et al.,
2017; Putwain et al., 2021) whereas few attempts have been made to
test bidirectional cross-lagged associations between the variables using
longitudinal procedures (Gunderson et al., 2018). Moreover, the limited
studies which have investigated emotions, value appraisal, and perfor­
mance link have left out anxiety (Forsblom et al., 2022) and although
longitudinal, are unidirectional and not bi-directional (Kyttälä & Björn,
2010). Research which makes use of models allowing for the analysis of
these variables over time (Pekrun, 2006; Putwain et al., 2021; Wang
et al., 2015) and determining whether relation patterns occur recipro­
cally is required (Henschel & Roick, 2017). Even though longitudinal
models are unable to establish causation, they can provide insights and
act as a prelude for experimental or intervention studies which can
validate causal relations (Selig & Little, 2012). The examination of the
dynamic interactions among anxiety, cost, and performance can assist
with the effective development and implementation of suitable in­
terventions. Researchers and educators would gain insights into whether
the enhancement of mathematics performance can be achieved by first
reducing anxiety or beliefs of cost.
To address these gaps, the present research employed a longitudinal
design to test relations among anxiety, perceived cost, and achievement
over a two-year period in the domain of mathematics. In addition to
analyzing reciprocal relations, mediation effects are probed by testing
the indirect effects of anxiety on achievement via cost, and vice versa.
This study focused on the discipline of mathematics as it is compulsory
at both the elementary and high school levels. This obligatory nature
arouses negative emotions such as anxiety (Suárez-Pellicioni et al.,
2016). Our study also focused on adolescents because, as they progress
through high school, their perceptions of cost might increase and they
may develop a fear of engaging in mathematics-related activities (Gas­
pard et al., 2017). The cost of engaging in the essential processing (i.e.,
intrinsic load) inherent in high school mathematics influenced by
nervousness, worry, and fear of failure would impact how students
perform on mathematics tasks, and so is worthy of comprehensive ex­
amination. The specific research question addressed was: How are the
perceived mathematics cost, mathematics anxiety, and mathematics
achievement of Taiwanese adolescents related to one another over time?
2. Literature review and hypothesis development
2.1. The control-value theory of achievement emotions
The CVT of achievement emotions represents an integrated frame­
work for research on emotions experienced in the academic setting, and
theorizes an antecedents-emotions-achievement pathway. The CVT de­
fines achievement emotions as affective arousal in the academic setting
linked to achievement activities such as studying and instruction or
achievement outcomes such as success and failure (Pekrun, 2006; Pek­
run & Perry, 2014). In the theory, achievement emotions are classified
based on three dimensions: (1) valence (positive or negative); (2) acti­
vation (activating or deactivating); and (3) object focus (activity, pro­
spective outcome linked to future success/failure, or retrospective
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Contemporary Educational Psychology 73 (2023) 102169
outcome associated with previous success/failure). For instance, anxiety
is considered a negative, activating, and prospective outcome-related
emotion, particularly an outcome linked to future failure.
According to CVT, achievement emotions are influenced by situa­
tional antecedents, individual learning, cognitive appraisal of control
over, and subjective task value of achievement activities, and the out­
comes of those activities such as performance. Proximal antecedents of
achievement emotions are control and value appraisals which refer to
the perceived controllability or interpretations of ability (e.g., self-
efficacy and self-concept) and subjective importance (e.g., value
judgements) of achievement-related activities and outcomes (Pekrun
et al., 2011). Specifically, the value appraisals could be positive and
negative judgements of academic activities and outcomes. While posi­
tive values inspire interesting, useful, and desirable activities and out­
comes, negative values render them undesirable. This study considered
negative consequences students associate with a task (i.e., perceived
cost) as conceptualized by Eccles and colleagues (Eccles et al. 1983;
Eccles & Wigfield, 2020). Furthermore, learning and social environ­
ments as distal antecedents of achievement emotions have an indirect
effect on emotions via the proximal antecedents of control and value
appraisals.
Although the antecedents-emotions-achievement pathway depicts
achievement as a result of the achievement emotions elicited from value
appraisals, Pekrun and his colleagues also proposed interrelatedness
among value judgements (e.g., cost), emotions (e.g., anxiety), and
achievement through complex and dynamic relations (Pekrun, 2006;
Pekrun et al., 2017; Pekrun & Perry, 2014). Furthermore, experiences of
success and failure regarding achievement would contribute to control
and value appraisals and emotions, forming a cyclical feedback loop
(Pekrun et al., 2017; Putwain et al., 2021).
2.2. Mathematics anxiety and cost
Mathematics anxiety is one of the major achievement emotions
highlighted in the CVT (Pekrun, 2006). Anxiety comes out of uncertainty
about whether failure of an impending task can be avoided (Kyttälä &
Björn, 2010; Pekrun, 2006; Putwain et al., 2021). That is, anxiety would
result “when a person simultaneously expects a failure and would like to
avoid the failure but thinks that the outcome (failure) is hard to avoid”
(Kyttälä & Björn, 2010, p. 432). Mathematics anxiety is defined as
feelings of fear, apprehension, tension, worry, and frustration experi­
enced while performing mathematics tasks (Passolunghi et al., 2016).
Expectancies for success and subjective task values are the two pri­
mary beliefs in EVT. The development of these motivational beliefs is
influenced by social situations which surround individuals and cultural
factors (Eccles et al., 1983; Eccles & Wigfield, 2020). Expectancies of
success are how well an individual believes they will perform on an
upcoming task. Subjective task values consist of four components.
Intrinsic value is related to the enjoyment or pleasure one experiences
when performing a task. Attainment value is the importance of doing
well on a task linked to one’s sense of identity, self-schema, or personal
values. Utility value refers to the usefulness for present and future goals.
The final component, cost, regards what is lost, suffered or relinquished
when performing a task. Recent studies have found that cost is not
merely a subdivision of task value but separates into its own factor
(Flake et al., 2015; Gaspard et al., 2015; Gaspard et al., 2017; Jiang,
2015).
Cost is a negative motivational contributor which works in opposi­
tion to the other dimensions of task value and could diminish the overall
level of value for a task. Perceived cost may have separate and inde­
pendent influences on maladaptive academic choice and behaviors such
as procrastination, disorganization, and test anxiety (Barron & Hulle­
man, 2015; Jiang et al., 2020) beyond that of other task value and ex­
pectancy beliefs (Jiang et al., 2018; Perez et al., 2014). This prompted
Barron and Hulleman (2015) to propose an Expectancy-Value-Cost
model, where cost is a distinct component which has been utilized in
S.M. St Omer and S. Chen
some recent research (Gaspard et al., 2017; Watt et al., 2019). Eccles and
Wigfield (2020) conceptualized cost along three dimensions: percep­
tions of the effort required to successfully complete the task (effort
required), forgone opportunities of engaging in other valued tasks (op­
portunity cost), and emotional or psychological states associated with
task engagement such as stress and anxiety (emotional cost).
In accordance with the CVT, value beliefs are associated with posi­
tive or negative emotions related to learning activities and outcomes
(Pekrun, 2006). In a cross-sectional study of university students, Pekrun
et al. (2011) examined nine different emotions and found that task value
correlated generally positively with the positive emotions and nega­
tively with the negative emotions. Using a longitudinal design, Forsblom
et al. (2022) reported reciprocal relationships between perceived
intrinsic value and emotions of Portuguese students tracked from fifth to
ninth grade. These reciprocal relations were positive for enjoyment but
negative for anger and boredom.
Value beliefs excluding cost were shown to predict mathematics
anxiety, but mostly short term, mainly tested on unidirectional paths,
and including only positive values (Frenzel et al., 2007; Goetz et al.,
2019; Kyttälä & Björn, 2010; Peixoto et al., 2017). Moreover, previous
explorations of the relations between positive value appraisals and
anxiety are marked by inconsistent results, depending on both the
context and the dimensions of value investigated, necessitating further
research. For instance, general perceived value positively predicted
anxiety (Kyttälä & Björn, 2010; Peixoto et al., 2017), but in Peixoto
et al.’s (2017) study, this association was in test-related situations and
not during class. The CVT proposes that anxiety related to the impor­
tance of avoiding failure would result from higher attainment value. In
an investigation of elementary students, Frenzel et al. (2007) found that
achievement value had positive effects on subsequent anxiety, whereas
Henschel and Roick (2017) and Putwain et al. (2021) found no relation.
Also, in Frenzel et al.’s (2007) study, domain value related negatively
rather than positively. Goetz et al. (2019) reported that although
intrinsic value was unrelated to anxiety, extrinsic value (i.e., achieve­
ment value and utility value) was positively related to anxiety.
Concerning negative value judgments and anxiety, although under­
explored, cross-sectional research concerning adolescence has found
that students with high perceived cost were more likely to experience
mathematics anxiety (Jiang, 2015; Jiang et al., 2018; Watt et al., 2019).
Watt et al. (2019) reported moderate positive associations of effort cost,
emotional cost, and social cost with anxiety for Australian high­
schoolers. However, Jiang’s (2015) South Korean study revealed that
although emotional cost and effort cost positively predicted anxiety,
opportunity cost displayed a negative association. Jiang suggests that
this negative relationship may be due to the retrospective nature of the
self-reports, and denotes that opportunity cost may have less influence
than other dimensions of cost.
Since the CVT assumes reciprocal relationships between emotions
and their antecedents (Pekrun, 2006), we expected cost and mathe­
matics anxiety to have a positive reciprocal relation over time, where
mathematics anxiety would positively predict cost (H1a) and vice versa
(H1b). To the best of our knowledge, this study is among the first to use
longitudinal models to test reciprocal relations using a negative aspect of
task value (i.e., cost) and the prominent facet of achievement emotions,
mathematics anxiety.
2.3. Cost and mathematics achievement
Previous research suggests that cost has a stronger predictive power
on mathematics achievement than other task value dimensions in the
EVT (Conley, 2012; Flake et al., 2015; Guo et al., 2016; Jiang, 2015;
Meyer et al., 2019). In cross-sectional studies of highschoolers, cost had
the strongest association with achievement among the four value beliefs
(Guo et al., 2016). Cost assumed a vital role in distinguishing students’
motivation patterns and predicting their achievement, while utility
value was less helpful (Conley, 2012). Perceived cost significantly
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Contemporary Educational Psychology 73 (2023) 102169
predicted mathematics test scores and moderated the relation between
expectancy beliefs and mathematics test scores, but value did not
directly predict mathematics test scores (Meyer et al., 2019). Similarly,
cost components were significantly related to both performance and
long-term interest in Flake et al.’s (2015) concurrent study of American
undergraduate students, whereas value was only related to long-term
interest. Jiang’s (2015) longitudinal investigation of South Korean
high school students indicated that although intrinsic, attainment, and
utility values were unrelated to achievement, perceived cost directly
predicted mathematics achievement. Consequently, the current study
focused on the perceived cost of learning mathematics, rather than on
the other task values.
Previous research generally reported a negative relation between
cost and mathematics achievement (Flake et al., 2015; Fries & Dietz,
2007; Guo et al., 2016; Jiang et al., 2020; Trautwein et al., 2012). These
studies used composite measures of cost (Guo et al., 2016), separate
dimensions (Fries & Dietz, 2007; Jiang 2015; Trautwein et al., 2012), as
well as both (Flake et al., 2015; Jiang et al., 2020). In an experimental
study, Fries and Dietz (2007) showed that raising German high-school
students’ perceptions of opportunity cost had detrimental effects on
their mathematics performance, and similar results were found in a
survey design among German adolescents (Trautwein et al., 2012).
Jiang (2015) found only effort cost directly and negatively predicted
middle school South Korean students’ later mathematics achievement.
Emotional cost had an indirect negative association through perfor­
mance avoidance goals and avoidance intentions, and there was no
significant predictive pathway from opportunity cost. Flake et al. (2015)
reported significant moderate negative correlations between cost di­
mensions and American university students’ final mathematics grade.
However, in Jiang et al.’s (2020) study of a sample of high school South
Korean students, general cost, effort cost, and emotional cost dimensions
had significant negative relations with achievement, whereas opportu­
nity cost was not related. Also, path analysis conducted using general
cost found a negative indirect prediction of achievement through per­
formance avoidance goals and avoidance intention. Thus, incidence of a
negative relation between perceived cost and achievement may vary
depending on the type of cost involved.
Previous studies of relationships between cost and achievement have
been predominantly cross-sectional and unidirectional (St Omer et al.,
2022). Studies which examine bidirectional relationships are needed to
validate the CVT’s assumption of reciprocal relations between these
constructs. Therefore, in accordance with the CVT and the assumption of
bi-directional relations between value and achievement, we hypothe­
sized that cost would be negatively related to subsequent changes in
mathematics achievement (H2a) and that mathematics achievement
would be negatively related to later changes in perceived cost (H2b).
2.4. Mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement
Mathematics anxiety is associated with a range of problems in
learning mathematics with the most prominent being its detrimental
effects on mathematics achievement (Passolunghi et al., 2016; Putwain
et al., 2021), future school achievement, and quality of life (Dowker
et al., 2016; Suárez-Pellicioni et al., 2016). Zhang et al. (2019), Nam­
kung et al. (2019), and Barroso et al. (2021) reported a small to mod­
erate negative and significant relationship between mathematics anxiety
and mathematics achievement in their meta-analyses. The association
appears in learners of all ages starting as early as childhood, and remains
significant through adulthood (Barroso et al., 2021). Granted that much
has been learnt over the past 60 years, the direction of this relation
between mathematics anxiety and mathematics performance is marked
by controversial results (Dowker et al., 2016), making it difficult to draw
specific conclusions concerning their link (Namkung et al., 2019).
Carey et al. (2016) summarized three models to shed light on the
abovementioned complex relationship between mathematics anxiety
and mathematics performance. First, the debilitating anxiety model
S.M. St Omer and S. Chen Contemporary Educational Psychology 73 (2023) 102169

considers anxiety as a cause of poor mathematics performance (Passo­
lunghi et al., 2016; Putwain et al., 2021). That is, the worry, fear, and
nervousness associated with mathematics anxiety may prompt the
avoidance of mathematics-related tasks and overburden working
memory resources that should be devoted to mathematical tasks,
thereby negatively influencing mathematics performance (Carey et al.,
2016; Namkung et al., 2019). The second model, the deficit anxiety
theory, proposes that poor performance leads to high anxiety but not
vice versa (Henschel & Roick, 2017; Ma & Xu, 2004; Sorvo et al., 2019;
Wang et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2022). Dwelling on the memory of
deficits in mathematics cognition and ability as well as self-regulatory
shortfalls may increase students’ fear and apprehension while
completing mathematics tasks. Finally, the previous two conflicting
models can be explained by a third model of reciprocal relations where
mathematics anxiety and performance influence each other in a vicious
cycle (Cargnelutti et al., 2017; Du et al., 2021; Gunderson et al., 2018).
Table 1 presents studies which have examined the mathematics
anxiety-mathematics performance relationship. Most of the studies were
conducted in Western, European countries. Longitudinal studies gener­
ally supported the deficit model (Ma & Xu, 2004; Sorvo et al., 2019;
Wang et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2022) or the reciprocal model (Carg­
nelutti et al., 2017; Du et al., 2021; Gunderson et al., 2018), where a
debilitating effect was simultaneously observed. Researchers have also
explained insignificant relations between the constructs as a result of
competing emotions (Peixoto et al., 2017) and motivational constructs
(Kyttälä & Björn, 2010) in the same model.
Additionally, negative activating emotions such as anxiety may not
always have adverse effects (Pekrun, 2006); moderate levels may be
beneficial to intrinsically motivate students through heightened alert­
ness and focused attention (Wang et al., 2015) since they would invest
more effort to avoid failure (Pekrun, 2006). In contrast to the proposed
models, a few studies have found a positive correlation between anxiety
and performance; for example, Indian college students with high per­
formance experienced higher academic stress (Banu et al., 2015). From
the investigation of a similar educational level, Macher et al. (2013)
reported that statistics anxiety had a small yet positive association with
academic achievement. A positive correlation was also found between
the anxiety and achievement of Taiwanese ninth graders (Sung et al.,
2016). Therefore, this may explain a curvilinear rather than linear
relationship between anxiety and performance. From their examination
of junior-high school students in Taiwan, Sung et al. (2016) and Chao
and Sung (2019) corroborated this curvilinear relationship and found
that high- and low-achievement students demonstrated lower-level
anxiety, while moderate-achievement students demonstrated higher-
level test anxiety. Keeley et al. (2008) reported similar findings from
the examination of university students in the United States.
The relationship between anxiety and performance may also be
situationally and culturally bound (Dowker et al., 2016; Kalaycıoğlu,
2015; Lee, 2009; Luttenberger et al., 2018). Lee’s (2009) investigation of
mathematics anxiety across 41 PISA 2003 participating countries found
that among higher achieving countries, East Asian high schoolers are
likely to experience higher anxiety than their European counterparts,
but the mathematics anxiety and mathematics performance link is
stronger in the Western versus the Eastern world. Asian students use
stricter standards to evaluate themselves (Luttenberger et al., 2018) and
like their parents they are not easily satisfied with their school perfor­
mance compared to non-Asian students (Lee, 2009). Specific to the
Taiwanese social environment, test results are held in high esteem and
serve as a mechanism for social expectations and comparison (Sung
et al., 2016). Similarly, an examination of the PISA 2012 results for six
countries by Kalaycıoğlu (2015) found that a significant relationship
between mathematics anxiety and performance existed only in low
achieving countries like Greece, Turkey, and the USA, but not in the
higher achieving countries of Hong Kong, the Netherlands, and England.
In sum, the literature has urged investigations of the anxiety-
achievement link outside the western culture, longitudinal research as
well as the involvement of possible mediators to enrich the discussion of
mathematics anxiety and achievement. Consequently, the following
hypotheses were tested. Mathematics anxiety would be negatively
related to subsequent changes in mathematics achievement (H3a), and
achievement would be negatively related to later changes in mathe­
matics anxiety (H3b).

Table 1
Summary of studies examining the anxiety-performance link.
Author Sample Size Location Grade Level Duration Model

Pekrun et al. (2017) 3,425 Germany High School Longitudinal Reciprocal

G5 to G9 (4 years; 5 waves)
Du et al. (2021) 2,789 China Elementary Longitudinal Reciprocal
G4 to G6 (2 years; 2 waves)
Cargnelutti et al. (2017) 198 Italy Elementary Longitudinal Reciprocal
G2 to G3 (1 year; 2 waves)
Gunderson et al. (2018) 634 USA Elementary Longitudinal Reciprocal
G1 and G2 (1 year; 2 waves)
Ma and Xu (2004) 3,116 USA High School Longitudinal Deficit
G7 to G12 (6 years; 6 waves)
Zhang et al. (2022) 823 China High School Longitudinal Deficit
G7 to G10 (1 year; 3 waves)
Sorvo et al. (2019) 1,321 Finland Elementary Longitudinal Deficit
G2 to G5 (1 year; 2 waves)
Wang et al. (2020) 1,043 Italy High School Longitudinal Deficit
(1 year; 2 waves)
Kyttälä and Björn (2010) 116 Finland High School Longitudinal Insignificant Results
G8 to G9 (1 year; 3 waves)
Passolunghi et al. (2016) 66 Italy High School Concurrent Debilitating
G6 and G8
Putwain et al. (2021 1,298 England Elementary Concurrent Debilitating
G4
Frenzel et al. (2007) 2,053 Germany Elementary Concurrent Deficit
G5
Henschel and Roick (2017) 368 Germany Elementary Concurrent Deficit
G4
Peixoto et al. (2017) 1,219 Portugal Elementary & Concurrent Insignificant Results
High School
G6 and G8

Note. G = Grade.

4
S.M. St Omer and S. Chen
2.5. Conceptualizing the relation among anxiety, cost, and achievement
through CVT
Previous research has examined the CVT’s values-emotions-
achievement link in the context of mathematics education testing con­
current and uni-directional (Frenzel et al., 2007; Luo et al., 2014;
Peixoto et al., 2017; Putwain et al., 2021; Tze et al., 2021) and bi-
directional hypotheses (Gunderson et al., 2018). The findings of these
investigation have been inconsistent with some reporting significant
mediation patterns (Frenzel et al., 2007; Luo et al., 2014; Tze et al.,
2021) while others found insignificant paths (Gunderson et al., 2018;
Peixoto et al., 2017). Moreover, few studies have tested the theoretically
proposed indirect relationship between mathematics performance and
emotions through value beliefs (Forsblom et al., 2022; Kim & Pekrun,
2014; Pekrun, 2006). Forsblom et al. (2022) used a three-wave uni-
directional model and found insignificant effects of achievement on
enjoyment, anger, and boredom mediated by positive value appraisals
for Portuguese highschoolers. Similarly, Kyttälä and Björn’s (2010) two-
year uni-directional study found that attainment value had no mediating
effect on the association between the mathematics performance of
eighth grade and the affective mathematics anxiety of ninth grade
Finnish students.
Since the CVT assumes reciprocal relationships between emotions,
their antecedents (i.e., cognitive and value appraisals) and consequences
such as performance (Pekrun, 2006; Pekrun et al., 2017; Pekrun & Perry,
2014), by implication, value beliefs should mediate the effect of per­
formance on emotions, and vice versa. To add to the contradictory
literature and limited study of both perceived cost and the mediatory
role of value appraisals within the CVT, this study tested whether
mathematics anxiety was associated with achievement via cost (H4) and
if yes, whether it was uni- or bi-directional.
3. Research methodology
3.1. Sample and procedures
The participants were 335 junior high school students (45.92% fe­
male) from six schools in the Taipei metropolitan area. Their ages
ranged from 12 to 14 years, with an average age of 12.61 years (SD =
0.50) at Time 1 (Semester 1 of Grade 7). The study used pooled stratified
sampling to allow for the collection of data from schools with diverse
characteristics such as: small/ large, public/private, as well as above/
below/average socio-economic districts. The survey data were collected
in four waves (Grade 7 fall, Grade 7 spring, Grade 8 fall, and Grade 8
spring) for 2 years.
Sampling was done by class to decrease the cost of participation and
errors in self-reporting. One third of the classes were randomly selected
from each school. 3.93% of the students did not complete the survey at
Time (T1), 7.23% at Time 2 (T2), and 12.11% and 12.37% at Time 3
(T3) and Time 4 (T4) respectively. In all, 86.34% of the students
completed the survey for all four time periods. The increased rate of
incomplete surveys in the last two time periods was as a result of the
regrouping of students based on ability at the beginning of T3 in one
private school. This resulted in the loss of participants. Also, there were
no arrangements for a make-up survey for students who were absent at
the time of data collection.
Participation was voluntary and participants’ information was kept
confidential. Data were collected during breaks, at lunch time, during
class time, or after school at their convenience. Participants who did not
answer questions of a whole scale at any of the four time periods were
removed. Missing values of the partially completed survey were imputed
using full maximum likelihood in Mplus. The survey was administered
after the second of the three regular examinations of each semester.
Their nearest mathematics test scores, that is the second examination,
were obtained from the school records.
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Contemporary Educational Psychology 73 (2023) 102169
3.2. Measurement tools
3.2.1. Mathematics anxiety scale
The mathematics anxiety scale was adopted from the Achievement
Emotions Questionnaire referring specifically to mathematics (Pekrun
et al., 2005; Pekrun et al., 2011). After removal of two items overlapping
with effort/emotional cost, the four-item scale measured participants’
cognitive (worry about failure; 3 items) and affective (nervousness; 1
item) mathematics anxiety related to taking tests and completing
mathematics homework. This inventory used a 5-point Likert scale
ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Examples of items
are: “When taking the math test, I am tense and nervous,” and “I start
sweating because I am worried I cannot complete my math assignments
in time.”.
The mathematics anxiety scale was translated into Chinese and back
into English to ensure the same meaning. Model fit indices determined
acceptable construct validity and measurement invariance across the
four waves of data. Cronbach’s alpha values for the measure were 0.69,
0.73, 0.71, and 0.75 at Time 1 to Time 4, respectively, indicating
acceptable reliability.
3.2.2. Mathematics cost scale
The Mathematics Cost scale was developed by Gaspard et al. (2015)
and translated and validated in Chinese by Seetee et al. (2021). The
negative perceptions that students have of engaging in mathematics
tasks was assessed with 11 items that included facets of effort required
(4 items; e.g., Dealing with math drains a lot of my energy), emotional
cost (4 items; e.g., When I deal with math, I get annoyed), and oppor­
tunity cost (3 items; e.g., I have to sacrifice a lot of free time to be good at
math). The scale applied a 5-point Likert Scale (1 strongly disagree to 5
strongly agree). Model fit indices tested in this study revealed suitable
construct validity as well as measurement invariance across time.
Cronbach’s alpha values for the measure were 0.92, 0.94, 0.95, and 0.91
at Time 1 to Time 4, respectively, indicating high reliability.
3.2.3. Mathematics achievement
Students’ achievement in mathematics was measured in terms of
their mid-semester grades during four semesters which were obtained
through the school administration. Only students with grades accessible
in all waves were included in this study. At all four-time points grades
ranged from 0 to 100.
3.3. Data analysis
Both an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor
analysis (CFA) were employed using mathematics anxiety and perceived
cost variables to evaluate the construct validity. The normality of the
distribution for all variables at all waves was inspected through skew­
ness and excess kurtosis. Composite scores were calculated for each scale
by averaging the scores of the items to be used for descriptive and
inferential statistics. Due to the different mathematics tests in separate
schools, the achievement scores were standardized by converting them
to T-scores by school. Then descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correla­
tion were generated to examine the overall picture of the variables along
with their relationships. Prior to the main analyses, measurement
invariance was established for the constructs of cost and mathematics
anxiety across waves using Chen’s (2007) recommendations. The model
fit indexes that were utilized were the comparative fit index (CFI), the
Tucker–Lewis index (TLI), the root mean square error of approximation
(RMSEA), and the standardized root mean residual (SRMR). Values
greater than 0.90 for CFI and TLI and<0.08 for RMSEA and SRMR were
considered indicative of good fit for all models in this study (Kline,
2011). Configural, metric, and scalar invariance were estimated since
metric invariance is the minimum requirement for the analysis of path
coefficients. After determining the model fit indexes for configural
invariance, metric invariance was determined by a change of ≤ − 0.010
S.M. St Omer and S. Chen
in CFI, supplemented by a change of ≤ 0.015 in RMSEA, or a change of
≤ 0.030 in SRMR. For testing scalar invariance, a change of ≤ − 0.010 in
CFI, supplemented by a change of ≤ 0.015 in RMSEA, or a change of ≤
0.010 in SRMR would indicate invariance.
Finally, cross lagged panel model (CLPM) analyses determined the
longitudinal relations among mathematics anxiety, mathematics
achievement, and perceived cost at four data time points. The robust
maximum likelihood estimation was used with robust standard errors to
account for any non-normality. Although CLPM is not sufficient to prove
causality, it is deemed one of the best available methods to investigate
causal precedence of one variable over another (Newsom, 2015) since
the temporal separation between variables builds an argument for and
lends support to causality (Selig & Little, 2012). Moreover, CLPM makes
investigating reciprocal relationships easy and allows for the evaluation
of mediation through its portrayal of both direct and indirect effects
(Selig & Little, 2012). The CLPM included all autoregressive and cross-
lagged paths across consecutive waves and correlations between the
constructs at each time point. Gender was controlled as a covariate at all
four time points. The CLPM fit was assessed by the same indices as those
for CFA, and all significant autoregressive and cross-lagged paths were
reported. All model testing was conducted in Mplus.
4. Results
4.1. Factor analyses
To explore the factorial structure, understand the patterns of vari­
ables, and determine the number of factors to be retained for perceived
cost, an integrated EFA including all items was conducted using Time 1
data. The maximum likelihood factor analysis with a cut-off point of
0.40 for factor loadings yielded a three-factor solution as the best fit for
the data. The factors were mathematics anxiety, effort/emotional cost,
and opportunity cost. All items showed moderately strong factor load­
ings from 0.46 to 0.92. Similar to Gaspard et al. (2017), cost was divided
into two rather than three factors and effort required and emotional cost
formed one factor. Two items related to class-related anxiety were
deleted from the mathematics anxiety scale because they loaded with
the effort/emotional cost factor. This redefined anxiety to test and
homework anxiety. This validated Jiang et al.’s (2018) suggestion that
even if emotional cost and negative emotions may be related and some
items may overlap, they are two distinct constructs. These authors argue
that emotional cost focuses on cognitive evaluations of emotional bur­
dens related to a task which may deter engagement, making it motiva­
tional beliefs, whereas negative emotions concern feelings experienced
in specific situations. To examine the internal validity of the factor
structure obtained through the EFA, an integrative CFA was conducted
including mathematics anxiety and cost for each of the four waves. The
results of the CFA models are presented in Table 2. These results indicate
an acceptable model fit with marginal RMSEA based on the above-
mentioned cut-off criteria.
We tested measurement invariance across waves separately for
mathematics anxiety and cost. The configural invariance model indi­
cated acceptable fit to the data for both mathematics anxiety (CFI =
0.99, TLI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.01, and SRMR = 0.04) and cost (CFI =
0.90, TLI = 0.89, RMSEA = 0.06, and SRMR = 0.07) which meant that
the factor structures were equal across time. The loss of fit for the metric
invariance model for both mathematics anxiety and cost was ΔCFI ≤
Table 2
Integrative CFA of Mathematics Anxiety and Cost across Times 1–4.
CFI TLI SRMR RMSEA
Time 1 0.90 0.90 0.05 0.077
Time 2 0.96 0.95 0.05 0.077
Time 3 0.95 0.94 0.07 0.083
Time 4 0.92 0.91 0.07 0.084
6
Contemporary Educational Psychology 73 (2023) 102169
− 0.003, ΔRMSEA ≤ 0.006, and ΔSRMR ≤ 0.004, signifying equal factor
loadings across the four waves. However, the scalar invariance models
for mathematics anxiety and cost did not fit the data well, revealing that
across time, the measurement models had equal factor loadings but not
equal intercepts.
4.2. Descriptive statistics and correlations of the variables
Table 3 presents the means, standard deviations (SD), skewness, and
kurtosis as well as the bivariate correlations among measures over time.
The means for anxiety ranged from 3.05(0.82) to 3.23(0.84), indicating
that participants acknowledged the presence of anxiety. Regarding cost,
the means on a 5-point Likert scale for effort/emotional cost ranged
from 2.63(1.04) to 2.89(1.09) and 2.18(0.94) to 2.36 (1.00) for oppor­
tunity cost, signifying participants’ indecisiveness regarding perceived
cost, especially opportunity cost. The correlations between the same
variables over time were low to moderate for mathematics anxiety (r =
0.38 - 0.62, p <.01) and effort/emotional cost (r = 0.37 - 0.67, p <.01);
low for opportunity cost (r = 0.27 - 0.47, p <.01) and high for mathe­
matics achievement (r = 0.76 - 0.84, p <.01). In line with H1a and H1b,
anxiety was positively correlated with both dimensions of cost (r = 0.12
- 0.40).
The results show that while both opportunity cost and effort/
emotional cost were negatively correlated with mathematics grades,
most associations between mathematics anxiety and mathematics
achievement were non-significant, with the only significant relations
being between anxiety at T4 and achievement at T1 and T2, which were
unexpectedly positive. Grade related significantly more strongly to
effort/emotional cost than to opportunity cost and anxiety. Moreover,
the weakest correlations recorded were between mathematics anxiety
and mathematics grade. This suggests that mathematics anxiety and
opportunity cost do not appertain to mathematics achievement over
time.
4.3. Longitudinal relationships for mathematics anxiety, cost, and
mathematics grades
Table 4 shows the results of the CLPM analysis including both
autoregressive coefficients and cross-lagged paths over time. Gender
was controlled and no significant effects were found for the four time
points. Both models fitted the data well with indices of RMSEA = 0.06,
CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.95, and SRMR = 0.06 for the effort/emotional cost
model and RMSEA = 0.02, CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.99, and SRMR = 0.04 for
the opportunity cost model. The autoregressive results suggest statisti­
cally significant low to moderate positive influences of mathematics
anxiety, cost, and mathematics achievement on themselves across time
(all ps < 0.001) for both cost models. Additionally, the autoregressive
coefficients for achievement decreased steeply; they were 0.83 from T1
to T2, 0.53 from T2 to T3, and 0.42 from T3 to T4. The coefficients for
the other variables were stable, then decreased.
As depicted in Fig. 1, the only significant cross-lagged pathway in the
opportunity cost model was from mathematics anxiety at T1 to oppor­
tunity cost at T2. Opportunity cost failed to demonstrate any significant
pathways to mathematics anxiety and performance. Fig. 1 displays
standardized coefficients of statistically significant relations but omits
the non-significant and autoregressive paths to improve readability. The
positive relations between anxiety and both dimensions of cost might
appear to be inconsistent at first glance. The pattern makes sense only
when it is viewed from a year-long period from T2 to T4. Anxiety pre­
dicted opportunity cost from T1 to T2. Higher levels of effort/emotional
cost at T2 predicted higher Anxiety at T3, with this anxiety predicting
subsequent effort/emotional cost at T4. This relationship, if perceived
from a relatively long interval, is in line with the CVT, supports H1a and
H1b, and is an indication of a positive reciprocal relationship between
mathematics anxiety and effort/emotional cost.
High effort/emotional cost predicted lower mathematics
S.M. St Omer and S. Chen Contemporary Educational Psychology 73 (2023) 102169

achievement from T1 to T2 (supporting H2a) and vice versa (supporting

Note. T1 = Time 1, 1st semester of Grade 7; T2 = Time 2, 2nd semester of Grade 7; T3 = Time 3, 1st semester of Grade 8; T4 = Time 4, 2nd semester of Grade 8; EEC = Effort/Emotional Cost; OC = Opportunity Cost; * p <
− 0.43
− 0.74
(9.71)
H2b), but the direction of the prediction was only from achievement to

51.58
16
effort/emotional cost in subsequent waves (supporting H2b, not H2a). In

1
other words, a negative reciprocal relation between effort/emotional
cost and achievement only existed in the seventh grade. Moreover, the

− 0.59
− 0.41
0.83**

(9.61)
51.18
predictive power from achievement to effort/emotional cost reduced
15

1
from − 0.25 to − 0.14 in the coefficient estimates over time. It seems that
effort/emotional cost and mathematics achievement reinforce each

− 0.56
− 0.52
0.83**
0.82**

(9.58)
other in the beginning of junior high school, but are then gradually

51.14
14

decoupled. Depicted in Fig. 1, the direct influence of anxiety on per­

1
formance was not significant across all time periods. The reverse influ­
ence occurred as students transitioned between the two grades (T2 to

− 0.54
− 0.29
0.84**
0.79**
0.76**

(9.64)
50.93
T3). Similar to the correlation analysis, this relation was positive rather
13

1
than negative. Both H3a and H3b were rejected.
Finally, the indirect effect of mathematics anxiety on achievement
− 0.05
− 0.06
− 0.02
− 0.04 mediated by effort/emotional cost was weak and not significant. How­
2.36

0.61
0.05
(1)
12

ever, indirect effects in the reverse direction, that is, the effects of
1

achievement on mathematics anxiety mediated by effort/emotional cost

was significant (partially confirming H4) but only within the first three
− 0.14**
− 0.10

− 0.09
− 0.07
0.47**

(0.94)

time points, where achievement at T1 predicted decreased effort/

2.18

0.61
0.02
11

emotional cost at T2, which in turn was associated with increased

1

anxiety at T3. Overall, the results support H2b, partially support H1a,
H1b, H2a, and H4, but reject H3a and H3b.
− 0.13*
− 0.12*
− 0.06
− 0.05

(1.04)
0.46**
0.37**

2.76

0.26
0.03
10

5. Discussion

Grounded in the CVT, this study examined whether and to what

− 0.19**
− 0.19**
− 0.16**
− 0.12**

− 0.53
0.40**
0.31**
0.27**

2.27

0.67

extent mathematics anxiety, perceived cost (i.e., effort/emotional cost

(1)
9

as well as opportunity cost), and mathematics achievement of Taiwa­

nese adolescents influenced each other over time. The results provide a
− 0.31**
− 0.34**
− 0.39**
− 0.44**

more comprehensive understanding of the directionality and strength of

− 0.53
0.17**
0.30**
0.28**
0.42**

2.82

0.18

the interrelationship. Our longitudinal model further revealed that

(1)
8

within the context of the CVT, it would be imprudent to exclude effort/

emotional cost as is the norm since it exhibits unique predictive power
− 0.38**
− 0.41**
− 0.40**
− 0.38**

for the mathematics anxiety and mathematics performance of

− 0.38
(1.04)
0.65**
0.20**
0.35**
0.48**
0.28**

2.63

0.31

adolescents.
7

1
Descriptive statistics and correlations among mathematics anxiety, cost, and mathematics grade.

5.1. Long-term reciprocal relations between mathematics anxiety and cost

− 0.32**
− 0.38**
− 0.36**
− 0.33**

− 0.53
0.67**
0.61**
0.17**
0.44**
0.29**
0.26**

2.89

0.15

The data showed generally low to moderate positive correlations

(1)
6

between mathematics anxiety and both effort/emotional and opportu­

nity cost, ranging from 0.12 to 0.41, which were consistent with our
− 0.20**
− 0.25**
− 0.19**
− 0.21**

hypotheses (H1a and H1b). Based on the longitudinal models, the

− 0.37
0.48**
0.47**
0.37**
0.39**
0.27**
0.23**
0.19**

2.78

0.12

increased anxiety of transitioning from elementary to high school pre­

(1)
5

dicted only high opportunity cost but not the reverse (i.e., T1 to T2).
Concerning effort/emotional cost, the relation was found to be long term
− 0.46
0.14**
0.18**

0.27**

0.25**
0.20**
0.30**

(0.84)
0.13*
0.11*

and positively reciprocal since effort/emotional cost at T2 predicted

0.09

0.11

0.10
0.09
3.11

0.28
4

anxiety at T3, which influenced subsequent effort/emotional cost at T4.

Starting the seventh grade with feelings of fear and apprehension for
a subject like mathematics may elicit avoidance behaviors and
− 0.28
0.59**
0.16**
0.27**
0.28**
0.27**

0.27**
0.27**
0.24**

(0.82)
0.12*

0.03
0.07
0.02
0.04
3.05

0.16

strengthen the conviction that the domain requires too much forgone
3

opportunity. Experiences in the seventh-grade prompt perceptions of

effort requirements and anticipated negative affect resulting in mathe­
− 0.30
0.62**
0.59**
0.16**
0.26**
0.16**
0.26**
0.13**
0.39**
0.21**
0.19**

(0.87)

matics anxiety in the eighth grade. As this anxiety developed so too does
0.04
0.05
0.05
0.06
3.16

0.02
2

the expected effort and negative emotions. Notably, the cross-lagged

panel analysis depicted that the influence of mathematics anxiety on
effort/emotional cost occurred within a school year, whereas the in­
− 0.43
0.51**
0.38**
0.45**
0.41**
0.20**
0.23**
0.19**
0.21**
0.28**
0.15**

(0.84)
0.10
0.03
0.02
0.02
0.01
3.23

0.15

fluence of effort/emotional cost on anxiety was observed across the

1

0.05, **p < 0.01, two-tailed.

seventh and eighth grades. Whether and how the summer break or
changes in mathematics curriculum make a difference is worth further
T1
T2
T3
T4

investigation.
13. Achievement
14. Achievement
15. Achievement
16. Achievement
1. Anxiety T1
2. Anxiety T2
3. Anxiety T3
4. Anxiety T4

5.2. Short-term reciprocal relations between effort/emotional cost and

Mean (SD)
10. OC T2
11. OC T3
12. OC T4

Skewness
5. EEC T1
6. EEC T2
7. EEC T3
8. EEC T4
9. OC T1

Kurtosis

mathematics achievement
Table 3

We hypothesized significant negative bidirectional relations between

7
S.M. St Omer and S. Chen Contemporary Educational Psychology 73 (2023) 102169

Table 4
Longitudinal Relations between Cost, Mathematics Anxiety, and Mathematics Achievement (Standardized Coefficients).
Effort/Emotional Cost Model Opportunity Cost Model

T1 → T2 T2 → T3 T3 → T4 T1 → T2 T2 → T3 T3 → T4

Autoregressive Paths
Anxiety 0.54*** 0.55*** 0.39*** 0.51*** 0.56*** 0.33***
(0.046) (0.044) (0.050) (0.042) (0.046) (0.050)
Cost 0.43*** 0.54*** 0.37*** 0.35*** 0.38*** 0.35***
(0.050) (0.043) (0.053) (0.048) (0.053) (0.051)
Achievement 0.83*** 0.53*** 0.42*** 0.84*** 0.55*** 0.45***
(0.018) (0.053) (0.049) (0.017) (0.051) (0.051)
Cross lagged Effects
Anxiety → Cost 0.04 0.01 0.10* 0.22*** 0.05 0.08
(0.053) (0.042) (0.043) (0.049) (0.052) (0.049)
Cost → Anxiety − 0.05 0.14*** − 0.08 0.03 0.03 0.03
(0.053) (0.046) (0.045) (0.049) (0.046) (0.041)
Cost → Achievement − 0.11** − 0.06 − 0.02 − 0.04 0.04 0.03
(0.034) (0.033) (0.032) (0.031) (0.032) (0.029)
Achievement → Cost − 0.25*** − 0.16*** − 0.14*** − 0.07 − 0.07 0.04
(0.048) (0.043) (0.044) (0.050) (0.049) (0.047)
Anxiety → Achievement 0.04 0.03 0.01 0.001 − 0.00 − 0.01
(0.033) (0.031) (0.030) (0.031) (0.032) (0.029)
Achievement → Anxiety 0.02 0.10* 0.04 0.03 0.04 0.08
(0.048) (0.045) (0.043) (0.032) (0.043) (0.040)

Note. Statistics are standardized coefficients. * p <.05; **p <.01; ***p <.001; Standard errors (SE) in parentheses.

Fig. 1. Longitudinal cross-lagged model for mathematics anxiety, cost, and mathematical performance. Note. Non-significant and autoregressive paths are omitted.
Statistics are standardized coefficients. EEC = effort/emotional cost; OC = opportunity cost; Bold = effort/emotional cost model; Grey = opportunity cost model* p
<.05; **p <.01; ***p <.001.

cost and achievement. Descriptive data depicted low to moderate cor­
relations ranging from − 0.12 to − 0.44, which seems to echo previous
studies using cross-sectional samples (e.g., Jiang, 2015). However, from
the longitudinal analysis, the opportunity cost model failed to demon­
strate any significant pathways as depicted in Table 4 and Fig. 1. Yet, the
effort/emotional cost model indicated reciprocal relations in the seventh
grade, but only achievement influenced effort/emotional cost thereafter
(fully supporting H2b but only partially supporting H2a).
The finding for opportunity cost is at odds with cross-sectional
studies involving high school German students (Fries & Dietz, 2007;
Trautwein et al., 2012) and university students in the United States
(Flake et al., 2015) which have shown predictive effects on subsequent
mathematics achievement. Meanwhile, regarding effort/emotional cost,
our findings are consistent with the longitudinal investigations of high
school South Korean students. Jiang and colleagues tested effort cost and
emotional cost separately, and reported direct negative effects of effort
cost on mathematics achievement (Jiang, 2015; Jiang et al., 2020). For
emotional cost, Jiang et al. (2020) found a direct negative effect,
whereas Jiang (2015) reported an indirect effect through performance
avoidance goals and avoidance intentions. Jiang (2015) indicated that
perceived cost is related to low value, and when students perceive high
effort and negative affect, they would limit their effort, which would be
detrimental for their mathematics achievement, whereas our longitu­
dinal model confirmed this relation only in the seventh grade. Overall,
achievement is an antecedent rather than an outcome of effort/
emotional cost.
After the seventh grade, achievement predicted effort/emotional
cost and not the other way around. A decrease in students’ mathematics
performance may lead to a belief that their effort is inadequate, causing
subsequent effort/emotional cost to surge. Moreover, the predictive
power of achievement to effort/emotional cost decreased over time. The
coefficients dropped from − 0.25 (T1 to T2), to − 0.16 (T2 to T3), and

8
S.M. St Omer and S. Chen
then to − 0.14 (T3 to T4). Both the decreasing predictive power and the
disappearing effect of effort/emotional cost on achievement suggested a
gradual decline in the interaction between effort/emotional cost and
mathematics performance. Although studies like Gaspard et al. (2017)
with participants from the western world indicate that cost becomes
more predictive as students move to higher grades, this finding was not
replicated for Taiwanese adolescents.
According to the CVT, value beliefs develop from repeated experi­
ences in the academic setting, and success or failure in mathematics tests
would arouse certain judgements about values and cost and vice versa,
in a vicious cycle (Pekrun, 2006). Our findings partially support cost’s
influence on achievement (H2a), and strongly support prior achieve­
ment predicting cost (H2b). As students’ progress to higher grade levels,
they may become more disengaged in school, causing diminished
satisfaction and motivational beliefs (Eccles & Roeser, 2011). Value
beliefs are thought to be influenced by age and maturation (Eccles &
Wigfield, 2020). Students may have transitioned to high school (i.e., first
semester in seventh grade, T1) with lower control influencing the sig­
nificant relation between effort/emotional cost and achievement. There
is the possibility that as they work harder, their sense of control would
become higher, which would in turn dismantle future influence of effort
required and emotional cost at later time points. Also, as they progress
through high school, Taiwanese adolescents may have been equipped
with and make efficient use of regulatory strategies for their effort/
emotional cost to curb its influence on achievement. The findings also
suggest that seventh and eighth grades are a critical period in early
adolescence where the relation between effort/emotional cost and
achievement undergoes a major change. Thus, there is a need for the
extended study of the influence of cost across grade levels, especially
before seventh grade and beyond eighth grade.
5.3. Sporadic relations between mathematics anxiety and mathematics
achievement
From the bivariate correlations we saw only a few instances of sig­
nificant relations between mathematics anxiety and performance and
positive correlations between anxiety and achievement. The positive
correlation was also reported in previous investigations of Taiwanese
high schoolers (Chao & Sung, 2019; Sung et al., 2016). Moving along to
longitudinal models, this study found non-significant direct relations
from anxiety to achievement and a significant positive reverse rela­
tionship during the summer vacation, contradicting both H3a and H3b.
This finding supports previous assessments of associations between
anxiety and achievement which indicated complex and not always un­
favorable influences (Pekrun, 2006; Wang et al., 2015) as well as
curvilinear associations (Chao & Sung, 2019; Keeley et al., 2008, Sung
et al., 2016).
The positive link from performance to subsequent anxiety as students
transition between grades indicates that even when Taiwanese students
experience improved performance in mathematics, subsequent anxiety
will increase rather than decrease. This finding is inconsistent with prior
research explored in a predominantly Western context. Nevertheless, it
corroborates the CVT’s claim regarding the influence of the learning
environment on emotions and their interrelatedness with learning
achievement (Pekrun et al., 2017) and the evaluation of negative acti­
vating emotions such as anxiety as being ambivalent. The activating
nature as well as the interplay of the many social and individual de­
terminants of anxiety may induce a deviation from expectations. Simply
put, emotions are not universal and influenced by certain features of the
academic setting such as educational level, achievement level, or cul­
ture, which future CVT studies may take into account.
5.4. Indirect influence of mathematics achievement on mathematics
anxiety via cost
In the effort/emotional cost model, the mutual effects between
9
Contemporary Educational Psychology 73 (2023) 102169
achievement and cost coupled with the prolonged reciprocal relations
between cost and anxiety revealed that mathematics achievement was a
secondary antecedent (i.e., distal predictor) of anxiety working through
perceived cost. Achievement at T1 was negatively related to effort/
emotional cost at T2, which continued to positively predict anxiety at
T3. In other words, students’ performance at the beginning of the sev­
enth grade decreased effort/emotional cost, and their mathematics
anxiety in the eighth grade reflected the perceptions of effort/emotional
cost at the end of seventh grade. A study by Frenzel et al. (2007) pointed
in a similar direction, where mathematics performance of German
elementary students influenced mathematics anxiety via motivational
beliefs of the importance to perform well in mathematics (attainment
values). It is probable that low mathematics performance can lead to
negative perceptions of completing a mathematics task and a suspicion
of worthwhileness, which would further legitimize nervousness and
worrisome feelings.
However, the indirect path from achievement to anxiety was only
observed once. The prolonged cycle between anxiety and effort/
emotional cost, the decoupling relation between effort/emotional cost
and achievement, and the limited length of the study may all disturb the
observation over time, and alluded to effort/emotional cost and anxiety
having little longitudinal effect on achievement. Nevertheless,
achievement is more like a distal, rather than proximal predictor of
anxiety, and not an outcome of anxiety. The findings suggest that
Taiwanese adolescents undertake realistic assessments of and are aware
of their own mathematics abilities which influences anxiety and
motivation.
The finding of performance as a distal predictor corroborates the
CVT’s (Pekrun, 2006) assumption of the association between prior
mathematics performance and subsequent anxiety through cost. Kim
and Pekrun (2014) noted a gap in research which investigated the
mediatory effect of motivation on the emotions-achievement link. This
current study helped fill this this gap, and the results illuminate the
importance of examining mathematics anxiety since it is a consequence
of mathematics performance over a two-year period. However, the re­
sults questioned CVT’s proposal of achievement being an outcome of
emotions. More research is needed to explain whether this discrepancy
is due to cultural differences.
6. Conclusion
The purpose of this current study was to investigate the longitudinal
relation among mathematics anxiety, perceived cost, and mathematics
grade. Some results of the study were consistent with CVT assumptions
of reciprocal linkages among mathematics anxiety, cost, and perfor­
mance. This study provides the first longitudinal evidence of negative
task value (i.e., cost) in the examination of the CVT of negative
achievement emotion of anxiety. The strength of this study lies in its use
of long-term longitudinal data from four time points and across two
grade levels to explore the roles of mathematics anxiety, perceived cost,
and performance, as well as testing separate aspects of cost to determine
which are most relevant.
While the results of previous investigations of the interrelations
among mathematics anxiety, value beliefs, and mathematics perfor­
mance justify a focus on anxiety reduction or prevention (Frenzel et al.,
2007; Putwain et al., 2021), the findings of the current study allude to
interventions tailored to all three constructs at varying times. First, we
see the effect of anxiety on both dimensions of cost being long term and
within a school year, first influencing opportunity cost from T1 to T2 and
then effort/emotional cost from T3 to T4. This indicates a need for
anxiety interventions during the school year. Second, although effort/
emotional cost lost its predictive power on achievement over the two
years, our results suggest a possible effect of early effort/emotional cost
intervention in the seventh grade at the beginning stage of learners’ high
school journey. Negative and maladaptive value beliefs did not only
partially influence behavior which affects cognitive outcomes (i.e.,
S.M. St Omer and S. Chen
achievement) in the early stage, but they also lead to mathematics
anxiety in the long term. The implication is that the development of
early effort/emotional cost interventions which reduce the perceptions
of mathematics tasks as meritless and laborious have the potential to
stabilize achievement and mathematics anxiety, eliminating the effects
of adolescents’ negative affect on performance.
Lastly, the model explicates the role of performance in mathematics
as an antecedent of mathematics anxiety and effort/emotional cost
rather than an outcome. Achievement remains a strong factor of sub­
sequent mathematics anxiety and effort/emotional cost. It is well
established that improving high schoolers’ mathematics performance
would ensure positive mathematics learning experiences. These findings
suggest that in addition to intervention to enhance performance, edu­
cators should also consider research-based interventions for stabilizing
high performance and reducing the long-term vicious feedback loop
between mathematics anxiety and perceived cost across school years.
Additionally, previous research suggests dissimilar effects of the mea­
surement of mathematics performance (Kyttälä & Björn, 2010); there­
fore, the type and characteristics of assessment of performance should be
scrutinized to minimize detrimental effects (Peixoto et al., 2017).
There are certain limitations associated with the current study that
need to be considered. When we measured all variables in a fixed in­
terval, we assumed that they all functioned at the same pace, which may
not be the case. The interaction between anxiety and the dimensions of
cost might not be evinced in intervals shorter than a year. Moreover,
intervals between waves may influence the strength of associations. The
length of intervals may alter the results. Finally, it is equivocal whether
the findings would generalize to other cultures, age groups, and subject
areas since this research was conducted in mathematics with Taiwanese
adolescents. The culture and education system impose high expectations
and place much pressure on students. Anxiety and cost may be perceived
differently, as may the role of achievement. Future research may eval­
uate the generalizability of the findings of this study across cultures, to
age groups in early and late adolescence, to students of varying abilities
(high, medium, and low-ability), students with specific learning dis­
abilities, and to subject domains other than mathematics.
Contract grant sponsor
Ministry of Science and Technology, Republic of China
Contract grant number
MOST 108-2511-H-011-002-MY4
Data availability
The datasets are available from the corresponding author upon
reasonable request.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Sherine Menella St Omer: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal
analysis, Writing – original draft, Visualization. Sufen Chen: Concep­
tualization, Validation, Resources, Data curation, Writing – review &
editing, Supervision.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
10
Contemporary Educational Psychology 73 (2023) 102169
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