Ask people to raise their hand if they like math and you most
likely won't see a lot of hands in the air. When asked why math
isn't particularly popular, many will answer that they just
never have been very good at it. A new study suggests that for
kids who are not mathematically inclined, studying harder and
being strongly motivated to improve can be the key to making
better grades. While genetics may play a role in math
comprehension, motivation and study habits can play a more
important role during the all important high school years
according to the study. It's not how smart we are; it's how
motivated we are and how effectively we study that determines
growth in math achievement over time, says Kou Murayama, a post-
doctoral psychology researcher at University of California Los
Angeles and lead author of the study published in the journal
Child Development. Murayama and his colleagues studied math
achievement among roughly 3,500 public school students living in
the German state of Bavariain. Students were