Rocking math at school with hypnosis: Effective reduction of math test anxiety with an audio hypnosis intervention in a school setting

Math as a school subject causes anxiety in many students. Previous results show that male and female students do not differ in their math performance. However, female students are more affected by math anxiety than male students, so that they might hesitate pursuing STEM careers. Actively<br> addressing math anxiety requires an intervention that reduces anxiety, changes attitude, and provides positive experiences. Hypnosis interventions are particularly suitable for this. Therefore, we developed a 30-minutes audio-hypnosis intervention and tested its effectiveness in this study. We randomly assigned students into an intervention group (N = 29) and a control group (N = 38). All students performed two real math tests at school. The intervention group listened at least once to the hypnosis audio intervention between both math tests. Immediately before each math test, we assessed state-math anxiety (measured with STAI-S). To investigate performance differences, we<br> analyzed students’ math performance scores in both math tests. Our results show that the hypnosis intervention led to a significant reduction in state-math anxiety, t(28) = 2.42, p = .022, Cohen`s dz = 0.45. Math performance did not differ significantly between math tests in the intervention group. Female students generally had higher trait math anxiety (as measured by SIMA scale) and showed a greater reduction in state math anxiety due to the hypnosis intervention, t(18) = 2.86, p = .010, Cohen`s dz = 0.66, compared to male students. It is possible that reduced state math anxiety could result in improved math performance in the long run. Overall, we conclude that our hypnosis intervention reduces math anxiety, especially in female students. Therefore, it is a promising method to promote especially females at an early point in their career and encourage them to choose STEM pathways. The final goal would be to establish hypnosis-based interventions at school encouraging students to activate their resources and develop their potential in all fields.数学作为一门学校课程，会使众多学生产生焦虑情绪。既往研究结果表明，男女学生的数学学业表现并无显著差异。然而，与男生相比，女生受数学焦虑的影响更为严重，这可能会导致她们在选择理工科（STEM）职业时犹豫不决。主动应对数学焦虑，需要采用能够缓解焦虑、改变负面态度并带来积极体验的干预手段。催眠干预手段在此场景中尤为适用。为此，我们研发了一款30分钟的音频催眠干预方案，并在本研究中对其有效性进行了测试。我们将学生随机分为干预组（N=29）与对照组（N=38）。所有学生均在学校内完成两场正式数学测试。干预组学生需在两场数学测试之间至少收听一次该音频催眠干预内容。在每场数学测试开始前，我们均对学生的状态性数学焦虑进行了评估（评估工具为STAI-S）。为探究学业表现差异，我们分析了学生在两场数学测试中的数学成绩得分。我们的研究结果显示，该催眠干预方案可显著降低学生的状态性数学焦虑，t(28)=2.42，p=0.022，Cohen's dz=0.45。干预组学生在两场数学测试中的数学成绩并无显著差异。与男生相比，女生通常具有更高的特质性数学焦虑（采用SIMA量表进行评估），且在接受催眠干预后，其状态性数学焦虑的缓解幅度更大，t(18)=2.86，p=0.010，Cohen's dz=0.66。从长期来看，状态性数学焦虑的缓解或可提升学生的数学学业表现。综合来看，我们的研究结论为：该催眠干预方案可有效缓解数学焦虑，尤其对女生群体效果显著。因此，该方案是一种极具前景的干预手段，可在学生职业发展早期助力女生群体，并鼓励她们选择STEM相关发展路径。我们的最终目标是在学校中推广基于催眠的干预方案，助力学生激活自身资源、在各个领域充分发挥个人潜力。