%0 Journal Article
%T Cognition-emotion interactions: patterns of change and implications for math problem solving
%A Kelly Trezise
%A Robert A. Reeve
%J Frontiers in Psychology
%D 2014
%I Frontiers Media
%R 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00840
%X Surprisingly little is known about whether relationships between cognitive and emotional states remain stable or change over time, or how different patterns of stability and/or change in the relationships affect problem solving abilities. Nevertheless, cross-sectional studies show that anxiety/worry may reduce working memory (WM) resources, and the ability to minimize the effects anxiety/worry is higher in individuals with greater WM capacity. To investigate the patterns of stability and/or change in cognition-emotion relations over time and their implications for problem solving, 126 14-year-olds¡¯ algebraic WM and worry levels were assessed twice in a single day before completing an algebraic math problem solving test. We used latent transition analysis to identify stability/change in cognition-emotion relations, which yielded a six subgroup solution. Subgroups varied in WM capacity, worry, and stability/change relationships. Among the subgroups, we identified a high WM/low worry subgroup that remained stable over time and a high WM/high worry, and a moderate WM/low worry subgroup that changed to low WM subgroups over time. Patterns of stability/change in subgroup membership predicted algebraic test results. The stable high WM/low worry subgroup performed best and the low WM capacity-high worry ¡°unstable across time¡± subgroup performed worst. The findings highlight the importance of assessing variations in cognition-emotion relationships over time (rather than assessing cognition or emotion states alone) to account for differences in problem solving abilities.
%K working memory
%K worry/anxiety
%K math problem solving
%K individual differences
%K change
%U http://www.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00840/abstract