If the thought of a math test makes you break out in a cold sweat, Mom or Dad may be partly to blame, according to new?research?published in?Psychological Science, a journal of the?Association for Psychological Science.
每當(dāng)想到數(shù)學(xué)測驗的時候，你會不會一身冷汗？如果是的話，你爸或你媽可能要承擔(dān)部分責(zé)任——這項研究發(fā)表在最新一期《心理科學(xué)》期刊上。

A team of researchers led by University of Chicago psychological scientists?Sian Beilock?and?Susan Levinefound that children of math-anxious parents learned less math over the school year and were more likely to be math-anxious themselves—but only when these parents provided frequent help on the child’s math homework.
美國芝加哥大學(xué)心理學(xué)家Sian Beilock和Susan Levine領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的研究團(tuán)隊發(fā)現(xiàn)，當(dāng)父母對數(shù)學(xué)存有畏懼心理、表現(xiàn)出“數(shù)學(xué)焦慮”時（math-anxious），子女讀書時數(shù)學(xué)也學(xué)得越少，并且越有可能感染上“數(shù)學(xué)焦慮”——尤其是在父母頻繁地試圖輔導(dǎo)子女的數(shù)學(xué)功課的情況下。

Previous research from this group has established that when teachers are anxious about math, their students learn less math during the school year. The current study is novel in that it establishes a link between parents’ and children’s math anxiety. These findings suggest that adults’ attitudes toward math can play an important role in children’s math achievement.
以往研究顯示，具有“數(shù)學(xué)焦慮”的教師，帶出來的學(xué)生在學(xué)校里學(xué)到的數(shù)學(xué)也更少；本研究則第一次揭示了家長“數(shù)學(xué)焦慮”和孩子“數(shù)學(xué)焦慮”之間的聯(lián)系，換句話說，成人對于數(shù)學(xué)的態(tài)度，對小孩子的數(shù)學(xué)成績影響巨大。

“We often don’t think about how important parents’ own attitudes are in determining their children’s academic achievement. But our work suggests that if a parent is walking around saying ‘Oh, I don’t like math’ or ‘This stuff makes me nervous,’ kids pick up on this messaging and it affects their success,” explained Beilock, professor in psychology.
“過去，人們并不認(rèn)為父母對數(shù)學(xué)的態(tài)度能夠決定子女的數(shù)學(xué)成績。現(xiàn)在，我們的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，如果父母總是在孩子面前說些‘噢，我不喜歡數(shù)學(xué)”、“這些數(shù)學(xué)題弄得我精神緊張”之類的話，那么孩子也會受到這些信息的影響，潛移默化，在數(shù)學(xué)上的表現(xiàn)越來越差?！癇eilock解釋說。

“Math-anxious parents may be less effective in explaining math concepts to children, and may not respond well when children make a mistake or solve a problem in a novel way,” added Levine, the Rebecca Anne Boylan Professor of Education and Society in Psychology.
“具有‘?dāng)?shù)學(xué)焦慮’的家長，向孩子解釋數(shù)學(xué)概念時，往往力不從心；當(dāng)孩子做錯了數(shù)學(xué)題、或是采用了創(chuàng)新方法解答時，這些家長的反應(yīng)也更遲鈍?！盠evine補(bǔ)充道。

Four hundred and thirty-eight first- and second-grade students and their primary caregivers participated in the study. Children were assessed in math achievement and math anxiety at both the beginning and end of the school year. As a control, the team also assessed reading achievement, which they found was not related to parents’ math anxiety.
來自438個家庭的孩子和家長參與了這項研究，孩子都是小學(xué)一、二年級學(xué)生。學(xué)年開始時，研究者們記錄了每個孩子的數(shù)學(xué)能力和“數(shù)學(xué)焦慮”程度（math anxiety），學(xué)年結(jié)束時，又重測了一遍這些指標(biāo)；此外，研究者們還記錄了孩子的閱讀能力，作為對照指標(biāo)（父母的“數(shù)學(xué)焦慮”不影響子女閱讀能力的發(fā)展）。

Parents completed a questionnaire about their own nervousness and anxiety around math and how often they helped their children with math?homework.
同時，這些孩子的父母需要完成一份問卷，這份問卷測量了父母的“數(shù)學(xué)焦慮”程度，以及父母輔導(dǎo)孩子數(shù)學(xué)功課的頻率。

The researchers believe the link between parents’ math anxiety and children’s math performance stems more from math attitudes than genetics.
研究者們認(rèn)為，父母具有“數(shù)學(xué)焦慮”，對子女?dāng)?shù)學(xué)成績的影響，更多地是由于（畏懼?jǐn)?shù)學(xué)的）態(tài)度在起作用，而非遺傳在起作用。

“Although it is possible that there is a genetic component to math anxiety,” the researchers wrote, “the fact that parents’ math anxiety negatively affected children only when they frequently helped them with math homework points to the need for interventions focused on both decreasing parents’ math anxiety and scaffolding their skills in homework help.”
“盡管‘?dāng)?shù)學(xué)焦慮’可能在一定程度上受到遺傳因素的影響，”研究者們寫道，“然而事實上，我們的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，只有當(dāng)父母頻繁地輔導(dǎo)子女?dāng)?shù)學(xué)功課時，才會把自身的‘?dāng)?shù)學(xué)焦慮’傳染到子女身上——說明父母在輔導(dǎo)子女?dāng)?shù)學(xué)功課時流露出來的、對數(shù)學(xué)的畏懼態(tài)度，才是真正的罪魁禍?zhǔn)住Ｎ磥砉ぷ鞑粌H應(yīng)該關(guān)注如何降低父母的‘?dāng)?shù)學(xué)焦慮’，還應(yīng)該關(guān)注如何提高父母輔導(dǎo)功課的技巧?！?/div>

Maloney said the study suggests that parent preparation is essential to effective math homework help. “We can’t just tell parents—especially those who are anxious about math—‘Get involved,’” Maloney explained. “We need to develop better tools to teach parents how to most effectively help their children with math.”
另一名主要作者、芝加哥大學(xué)博士后Maloney表示，父母在輔導(dǎo)子女?dāng)?shù)學(xué)功課之前，應(yīng)該做好更多準(zhǔn)備?！拔覀儾荒苤桓嬖V父母去參與，尤其是患有‘?dāng)?shù)學(xué)焦慮’的父母。”Maloney解釋道，“我們要開發(fā)一些效果更好的工具，幫助父母如何有效地幫助子女提高數(shù)學(xué)成績?！?/div>

These tools might include math books, computer and traditional board games, or Internet apps that “allow parents to interact with their children around math in positive ways,” the researchers wrote.
研究者們建議，比如借助數(shù)學(xué)參考書、學(xué)習(xí)軟件、網(wǎng)絡(luò)應(yīng)用、甚至桌面游戲的形式，父母可以更積極、更有效地與子女互動，以利于數(shù)學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)。