Affective transgression and meta-affect: an exploration of processes for belief change in mathematics education

Abstract

In underachieving students, well-established beliefs about mathematics or about their own ability may underlie response patterns of fear and/or aversion sometimes termed “math anxiety”. Here we consider some possible processes of belief awareness and change in students who choose to address counterproductive beliefs voluntarily. We bring to bear two theoretical ideas: the concept of affective transgression (consciously crossing emotional boundaries established by prior beliefs); and the concept of meta-affect (affect about affect, affect about cognition about affect, and the monitoring and regulation of affect). In this paper we focus on processes of “getting over” affective obstacles, where students may confront their prior beliefs and accompanying emotions directly through new experiences that include changes in their meta-affect. We describe one student’s processes of change. We suggest that teachers embrace the value of addressing affect explicitly within an emotionally safe teaching environment, and propose some ways to do so.