inhibiting attention towards intrusive or worrisome thoughts. Inhibition theory (Hasher & Zacks, 1988; Connelly, Hasher & Zacks, 1991) proposes that there is a mechanism for suppressing, or inhibiting, task-irrelevant distracters. If this mechanism is not working adequately then task-irrelevant information may interfere with working memory processes and consequently result in poor performance. Indeed, Hopko et al., 1998) demonstrated that high and medium math anxious groups took significantly longer than a low math anxious group to read through text that included irrelevant information, suggesting poor inhibitory control. Similarly, Hopko, McNeil, Gleason and Rabalais (2002) found that response times of high math anxious individuals were longer on a card counting task with numeric stimuli, compared to a card-counting task involving letters, again implicating inhibitory mechanisms related to working memory. Whilst previous math anxiety research has made reference to worrisome or irrelevant thoughts, surprisingly little research has attempted to examine the influence of worrisome thoughts on arithmetic performance. In an early study, Hunsley (1987) measured math anxiety, test anxiety, performance appraisals, performance attributions and internal dialogue amongst 96 university students before and after midterm statistics examinations. Participants’ negative internal dialogue was measured using the Cognitive Interference Questionnaire (CIQ, Sarason, 1978), which required participants to rate (on a five-point scale) the frequency with which they experienced negative thoughts during the exam. Math and test anxiety accounted for 15% and 10% of the variance in CIQ scores, respectively. Further, Beilock, Kulp, Holt and Carr (2004) found that students performing arithmetic in a high pressure condition (involving carry operations) had significantly increased perceptions of performance pressure and reported thoughts and worries about the high pressure situation and its consequences, compared to students in a low pressure condition. More recently, DeCaro,
inhibiting attention towards intrusive or worrisome thoughts. Inhibition theory (Hasher & Zacks, 1988; Connelly, Hasher & Zacks, 1991) proposes that there is a mechanism for suppressing, or inhibiting, task-irrelevant distracters. If this mechanism is not working adequately then task-irrelevant information may interfere with working memory processes and consequently result in poor performance. Indeed, Hopko et al., 1998) demonstrated that high and medium math anxious groups took significantly longer than a low math anxious group to read through text that included irrelevant information, suggesting poor inhibitory control. Similarly, Hopko, McNeil, Gleason and Rabalais (2002) found that response times of high math anxious individuals were longer on a card counting task with numeric stimuli, compared to a card-counting task involving letters, again implicating inhibitory mechanisms related to working memory. Whilst previous math anxiety research has made reference to worrisome or irrelevant thoughts, surprisingly little research has attempted to examine the influence of worrisome thoughts on arithmetic performance. In an early study, Hunsley (1987) measured math anxiety, test anxiety, performance appraisals, performance attributions and internal dialogue amongst 96 university students before and after midterm statistics examinations. Participants’ negative internal dialogue was measured using the Cognitive Interference Questionnaire (CIQ, Sarason, 1978), which required participants to rate (on a five-point scale) the frequency with which they experienced negative thoughts during the exam. Math and test anxiety accounted for 15% and 10% of the variance in CIQ scores, respectively. Further, Beilock, Kulp, Holt and Carr (2004) found that students performing arithmetic in a high pressure condition (involving carry operations) had significantly increased perceptions of performance pressure and reported thoughts and worries about the high pressure situation and its consequences, compared to students in a low pressure condition. More recently, DeCaro,
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