The Tapping Evidence Base
Test Anxiety & Students

Reducing mathematics anxiety among students with pseudo-dyscalculia in Ibadan through numerical cognition and emotional freedom techniques: Moderating effect of mathematics efficacy

Aremu, A. O., Taiwo, A. K. · African Journal for the Psychological Studies of Social Issues · 2014

Controlled trial👥 102 participants⚖️ vs. numerical cognition treatment (comparison arm)Moderate rigor✓ Source-checked📍 Nigeria
In plain English. Over 100 Nigerian secondary school students who struggled with severe math anxiety tried either a numerical-cognition training program or EFT. Tapping outperformed the numerical training at bringing down math anxiety, with a statistically strong effect. This is a solid-sized quasi-experimental study addressing an anxiety type rarely studied in the EFT literature.

What they found

102
people took part

There was a significant main effect of treatment on mathematics anxiety, F(2,109) = 173.020, p < 0.01, with the EFT (meridian-based) intervention more effective (mean = 33.78) than numerical cognition (mean = 45.35) in reducing mathematics anxiety.

How the study worked

Who took partsecondary school students with pseudo-dyscalculia (math anxiety) in Oyo State, Nigeria (n=102)
What they didIn a controlled trial, a tapping group was compared against a separate comparison group.
Compared withnumerical cognition treatment (comparison arm)
Measured withMathematics Anxiety Scale, Mathematics Efficacy scale, Pseudo-Dyscalculia Scale

💡 Where this could help

If findings like these hold up in larger trials, the promise is simple: a low-cost, self-administered tool that could reach people struggling with test anxiety & students who can't easily access traditional care — at home, between appointments, or where there aren't enough clinicians to go around.

🔬 What to study next

The natural next step: longer-term follow-up to see how durable the benefit is, and an active ('sham tapping') control to isolate what's doing the work.

The full record

DesignControlled trial
Participants102 people
Populationsecondary school students with pseudo-dyscalculia (math anxiety) in Oyo State, Nigeria
Comparison groupnumerical cognition treatment (comparison arm)
Outcome measuresMathematics Anxiety Scale, Mathematics Efficacy scale, Pseudo-Dyscalculia Scale
JournalAfrican Journal for the Psychological Studies of Social Issues
Year2014
CountryNigeria
LanguageEnglish
MethodEFT / tapping
Publication typeStudy / trial
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source

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Cite this study

APA

Aremu, A. O., & Taiwo, A. K. (2014). Reducing mathematics anxiety among students with pseudo-dyscalculia in Ibadan through numerical cognition and emotional freedom techniques: Moderating effect of mathematics efficacy. African Journal for the Psychological Studies of Social Issues.

This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping. Explore more studies on Test Anxiety & Students

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THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE Test Anxiety & Students 102 participants WHAT THEY FOUND There was a significant main effect oftreatment on mathematics anxiety, F(2,109) =173.020, p < 0.01, with the EFT… Controlled trial · 102 participants Aremu · 2014 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com