Share:


Exploring the effect of coloring mandalas on students’ math anxiety in business statistics courses

Abstract

Purpose – the purpose of this article is to review a quasi-experiment study examining whether business students’ math anxiety is reduced after participating in mandala coloring activities.


Research methodology – the research methodology integrated quantitative methods including independent t-tests and ANOVAs in a non-random convenient sample of 106 undergraduate students in 2018 in Texas, United States.


Findings – results from the one-way ANOVA and t-test analyses revealed that anxiety levels differed across groups, such that after coloring a pre-drawn mandala, math anxiety was significantly reduced in comparison to the control (doodling) group. Paired sample t tests also demonstrated that when comparing the anxiety levels at the baseline and post-treatment, math anxiety was reduced after performing both the pre-drawn and free-coloring mandala activities. Additionally, an independent sample t-test and a two-by-two factorial ANOVA demonstrated that males experienced a significant reduction in their math anxiety than the females did after performing the mandala coloring activity.


Research limitations – the study used a convenient sample, self-reported items, and a math anxiety measurement. Also, the findings found short-term evidence of math anxiety.


Practical implications – the findings of this study suggest that business statistics instructors who integrate a mandala coloring activity in anxiety-provoking undertakings may help to reduce their students’ math anxiety.


Originality/Value – This study is the first to investigate mandala coloring to reduce math anxiety in business students. Unlike previous studies that focus on anxiety in general, this study examines the benefit of mandala coloring on students’ math anxiety.

Keyword : business statistics, math anxiety, mandala art therapy, college students

How to Cite
Ramos Salazar, L. (2019). Exploring the effect of coloring mandalas on students’ math anxiety in business statistics courses. Business, Management and Economics Engineering, 17(2), 134-151. https://doi.org/10.3846/bme.2019.11024
Published in Issue
Oct 22, 2019
Abstract Views
3405
PDF Downloads
1674
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Alacam, E. (2018). I’m bad at math! A study of statistical anxiety and attitudes across majors (unpublished Master’s thesis). State University of New York at New Paltz. Retrieved from https://dspace.sunyconnect.suny.edu/handle/1951/70246

Arem, C. A. (2009). Conquering math anxiety: A self-help workbook (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

Ashcraft, M. H. (2002). Math anxiety: Personal, educational, and cognitive consequences. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 181-185. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00196

Ashcraft, M. H., & Faust, M. W. (1994). Mathematics anxiety and mental arithmetic performance: An exploratory investigation. Cognition and Emotion, 8, 97-125. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699939408408931

Baloğlu, M. (2001). An application of structural equation modeling techniques in the prediction of statistics anxiety among college students (unpublished doctoral dissertation). Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Baloğlu, M. (2003). Individual differences in statistics anxiety among college students. Personality and Individual Differences, 34, 855-865. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00076-4

Benson, J. (1989). Structural components of statistical test anxiety in adults: An exploratory model. The Journal of Experimental Education, 57(3), 247-361. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.1989.10806509

Bieg, M., Goetz, T., Wolter, I., & Hall, N. C. (2015). Gender stereotype endorsement differentially predicts girls’ and boys’ trait-state discrepancy in math anxiety. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01404

Bradley, D. R., & Wygant, C. R. (1998). Male and female differences in anxiety about statistics are not reflected in performance. Psychological Reports, 82, 245-246. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1998.82.1.245

Burton, B. N., & Baxter, M. F. (2019). Post-test anxiety in graduate level occupational therapy students. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 7(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.1451

Carsley, D., & Heath, N. L. (2018). Effectiveness of mindfulness-based colouring for test anxiety in adolescents. School Psychology International, 1. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034318773523

Carsley, D., & Heath, N. L. (2019). Effectiveness of mindfulness-based coloring for university students’ test anxiety. Journal of American College Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1583239

Carsley, D., Heath, N. L., & Fajnerova, S. (2015). Effectiveness of classroom mindfulness coloring activity for test anxiety in children. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 31(3), 239-255. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377903.2015.1056925

Chen, H., Liu, C., Chiou, W. K., & Lin. R. (2019). How flow and mindfulness interact with each other in different types of mandala coloring activities? In Pl. Rau (Eds.), Cross-cultural design: Methods, tools, and user experience. HCII 2019. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 11576. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-22577-3_34#citeas

Couch, J. B. (1997). Behind the veil: Mandala drawings by dementia patients. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 14, 187-193. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.1987.10759280

Color Mandala. (n.d.). Color Mandala. Retrieved from http://www.colormandala.com

Cox, C. T., & Cohen, B. M. (2000). Mandala artwork by clients with DID: Clinical observations based on two theoretical models. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 17, 195-201. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2000.10129701

Cross, G., & Brown, P. M. (2019). A comparison of the positive effects of structured and nonstructured art activities. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 36(1), 22-29. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2019.1564642

Cruise, J. R., Cash, R. W., & Bolton, L. D. (1985). Development and validation of an instrument to measure statistical anxiety. Proceedings of the Section on Statistical Education, American Statistical Association, 1, 92-98.

Currie, L. W. (2014). Mathematics anxiety in adult undergraduate business students: A descriptive study (unpublished doctoral dissertation). Capella University.

Curry, N. A., & Kasser, T. (2005). Can coloring mandalas reduce anxiety? Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 22(2), 81-85. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2005.10129441

Duong, K., Stargell, N. A., & Mauk, G. W. (2018). Effectiveness of coloring mandala designs to reduce anxiety in graduate counseling students. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 13(3), 318-330. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2018.1437001

Fullerton, F. A., & Umphrey, D. (2016). Statistics anxiety and math aversion among advertising students. Journal of Advertising Education, 20(1-2), 135-143. https://doi.org/10.1177/10980482160201-216

Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books.

Green, E. J., Drewes, A. A., & Kominski, J. M. (2013). Use of mandalas in Jungian play therapy with adolescents diagnosed with ADHD. International Journal of Play Therapy, 22(3), 159-172. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033719

Hembree, R. (1990). The nature, effects, and relief of mathematics anxiety. Journal of Research in Mathematics Education, 21, 33-46. https://doi.org/10.2307/749455

Henderson, P., Rosen, D., & Mascaro, N. (2007). Empirical study on the healing nature of mandalas. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 1(3), 148-154. https://doi.org/10.1037/1931-3896.1.3.148

Henslee, A. M., & Klein, B. A. (2017). Using brief guided imagery to reduce math anxiety and improve math performance: A pilot study. Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research, 18(4), 32-36. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1163805

Hopkins, K. D., Hopkins, B. R., & Glass, G. V. (1996). Basic statistics for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Needham Heights: Allyn and Bacon.

Hopko, D. R. (2003). Confirmatory factor analysis of the math anxiety rating scale-revised. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 63(2), 336-351. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164402251041

Howard, A., & Warwick, J. (2016). The prevalence of mathematical anxiety in a business school: A comparative study across subject areas. International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies, 3(2), 4-25.

Husni, M. M. (2007). Measuring the effect of anxiety reduction techniques on math anxiety levels in students enrolled in an HBCU college. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 67(12-A), 4476.

Jung, C. G. (1973). Mandala symbolism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Kersten, A., & van der Vennet, R. (2010). The impact of anxious and calm emotional states on color usage in pre-drawn mandalas. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 27(4), 184-189. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2010.10129387

Lalonde, R. N., & Gardner, R. C. (1993). Statistics as a second language? A model of predicting performance in psychology students. Journal of Behavioural Science, 25(1), 108-125. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0078792

Lee, S-L. (2018). Why color mandalas? A study of anxiety-reducing mechanisms. Art Therapy, 35, 35-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2018.1459105

Luttenberger, S., Wimmer, S., & Paechter, M. (2018). Spotlight on math anxiety. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 11(1), 311-322. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S141421

Mahar, D. J., Iwasiw, C. L., & Evans, M. K. (2012). The mandala: First-year undergraduate nursting students’ learning experiences. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 9(10). https://doi.org/10.1515/1548-923X.2313

Maloney, E. A., Waechter, S., Risko, E. F., & Fugelsang, J. A. (2012). Reducing the sex difference in math anxiety: The role of spatial processing ability. Learning and Individual Differences, 22, 380-384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2012.01.001

Mantzios, M., Giannou, K. (2018). When did coloring books become mindful? Exploring the effectiveness of a novel method of mindfulness-guided instructions for coloring books to increase mindfulness and decrease anxiety. Frontiers in Psychology, 9(56), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00056

Muthard, C., & Gilbertson, R. (2016). Stress management in young adults: Implications of mandala coloring on self-reported negative affect and psychophysiological response. Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 21, 16-28. https://doi.org/10.24839/2164-8204.JN21.1.16

National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). (2016). Job outlook 2016: The attributes employers want to see on new college graduates’ resumes. Retrieved from http://www.naceweb.org/career-development/trends-and-predictions/job-outlook-2016-attributes-employers-want-to-see-on-new-college-graduates-resumes/

Noor, S. M., Saleem, T., Azmat, J., & Arouj, K. (2017). Mandala-coloring as a therapeutic intervention for anxiety reduction in university students. Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal, 67(6), 904-907.

Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (1995). Statistics test anxiety and female students. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 19, 413-418. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1995.tb00083.x

Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (1998). Statistics anxiety: A function of learning style? Research in the Schools, 5, 43-52. Retrieved from https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2000-14112-004

Onwuegbuzie, A. (2004). Academic procrastination and statistics anxiety. Assessment Evaluation of Higher Education, 29, 3-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/0260293042000160384

Palocsay, S. W., & Markham, I. S. (2014). Management science in U.S. AACSB international-accredited core undergraduate business school curricula. Journal of Education for Business, 89(2), 110-117. https://doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2013.763755

Park, D., Ramirez, G., & Beilock, S. L. (2014). The role of expressive writing in math anxiety. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 20(2), 103-111. https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000013

Pèrez-Garín, D., Bustillos, A., & Molero, F. (2017). Revealing stereotype threat effects and women’s math performance: The moderating role of mathematical anxiety. International Journal of Social Psychology, 32(2), 276-300. https://doi.org/10.1080/02134748.2017.1291746

Pèrez-Tyteca, P., Castro Martínez, E., Rico Romero, L., & Castro Martínez, E. (2011). Ansiedad matemática, gènero y ramas de conocimiento en alumnus universitarios. Enseñanza De Las Ciencias, 29(2), 237-250. Retrieved from https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-03242-006

Philip, G. C., & Schultz, H. K. (1994). Operations research in medium-sized companies and the micro-computer revolution: Educational implications. Journal of Education for Business, 69(4), 217-221. https://doi.org/10.1080/08832323.1994.10117687

Potash, J. S., Yun Chen, J., & Yan Tsang, J. P. (2016). Medical student mandala making for holistic well-being. Medical Humanities, 42, 17-25. https://doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2015-010717

Powell, A., Alcorn, K., & Lindsay, K. (2017). Effect of coloring on student stress levels. American Journal of Recreation Therapy: Clinical and Practice-Based Research, 16(1). Retrieved form https://www.wmpllc.org/ojs-2.4.2/index.php/ajrt/article/view/587

Royse, D., & Rompf, E. L. (1992). Math anxiety: A comparison of social work and non- social work students. Journal of Social Work Education, 28, 270-277. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.1992.10778780

Rubinsten, O., Bialik, N., & Solar, Y. (2012). Exploring the relationship between math anxiety and gender through implicit measurement. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6, 279. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00279

Sandmire, D. A., Gorham, S. R., Rankin, N. E., & Grimm, D. R. (2012). The influence of art making on anxiety: A pilot study. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 29(2), 68-73. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2012.683748

Sime, W. E., Ansorge, C. J., Olson, J., Parker, C., & Lukin, M. (1987). Coping with mathematics anxiety: Stress management and academic performance. Journal of College Student Personnel, 28(5), 431-437. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ363230

Small, S. R. (2006). Anxiety reduction: Expanding previous research on mandala coloring. The Undergraduate Journal of Psychology, 19, 15-21.

Smitherman-Brown, V., & Church, R. P. (1996). Mandala drawing: Facilitating creative growth in children with ADD or ADHD. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 13, 252-262. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.1996.10759233

Sokolowski, H. M., Hawes, Z., & Lyons, I. M. (2019). What explains sex differences in math anxiety? A closer look at the role of spatial processing. Cognition, 182, 193-212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2018.10.005

Swanson, J. C., Meinert, D. B., & Swanson, N. E. (1994). Business communications: A highly valued core course in business administration. Journal of Education for Business, 69(4), 235-239. https://doi.org/10.1080/08832323.1994.10117691

Van der Vennet, R. (2012). Can coloring mandalas reduce anxiety? A replication study. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 29(2), 87-92. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2012.680047

Van der Vennet, R., & Serice, S. (2012). Can coloring mandalas reduce anxiety? A replication study. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 29(2), 87-92. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2012.680047

Vitolo, D. (2018). The effect of a peer-supported mindfulness practice on teacher stress reduction. Retrieved from https://sophia.stkate.edu/maed/250

Yeager, D. S. (2012). Productive persistence: A practical theory of community college student success. Paper presented at the 2012 annual meeting for the American Educational Research Association. Vancouver, BC. Canada.

Zanakis, S. H., & Valenzi, E. R. (1997). Student anxiety and attitudes in business statistics. Journal of Education for Business, 73, 10. https://doi.org/10.1080/08832329709601608

Zeidner, M. (1991). Statistics and mathematics anxiety in social students: Some interesting parallels. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 61, 319-328. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.1991.tb00989.x

Zeidner, M., & Safir, M. P. (1989). Sex, ethnic, and social differences in test anxiety among Israeli adolescents. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 150(2), 175-185.

Zettle, R. D., & Houghton, L. L. (1998). The relationship between mathematics anxiety and social desirability as a function of gender. College Student Journal, 32, 81. Retrieved from http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/490287/relationship-between-mathematics-anxiety-social-desirability-as-function-gender