Ben Perkins, our Director of Partnerships and Services, has years of experience working with people with low confidence in numeracy and maths anxiety.
In this blog he sheds light on what maths anxiety means and how it can impact consumers.
Sometimes, when faced with a maths problem, people experience an emotive response. It’s not unusual to feel a sense of panic or fear when we are trying to work with numbers.
Maths anxiety has been defined in research as the “the panic, helplessness, paralysis, and mental disorganization that arises among some people when they are required to solve a mathematical problem”. (Tobias and Weissbrod. 1980).
Whilst it has been recognised by academics for a long time, there is little public awareness of the problem, and most firms don’t recognise maths anxiety as an issue which might make their customers vulnerable.
Estimates vary on exactly how many people experience maths anxiety, but it is known to impact a large proportion of the population. According to the Maths Anxiety Trust, one in five people experience it. Other sources suggest the figure is higher.
People who experience maths anxiety respond to maths in different ways. It is often associated with feelings of stress, struggling to concentrate and a tendency to avoid maths altogether. There are also sometimes physical responses such as sweating, feeling sick or shaking, when faced with needing to use numbers.
There are many reasons why people feel anxious about maths.
Most commonly, people report negative school experiences as one of the reasons they feel uncomfortable with numbers. It could be because they remember failing exams, being put in the bottom set or feeling embarrassed by being answering questions incorrectly.
Other common reasons include feeling under pressure, fear of failure and a lack of appropriate support for adults.
How does maths anxiety impact consumers?
Consumers who experience maths anxiety may find it more difficult to fully understand numbers that are communicated to them by firms. At minimum, they are likely to experience heightened stress when managing their finances or making decisions.
Often, people with maths anxiety may begin to feel overwhelmed trying to calculate what the best deal is for them and give up. This means they may make decisions that they don’t fully understand and the consequences may not become apparent until it’s too late.
Others might avoid engaging with numbers altogether. Therefore they are likely to choose default options on products which might not offer them the best value for money.
In a time when the cost of living is rising, ignoring our finances altogether because of a fear of maths can cause real financial difficulty.
There are also impacts of this for firms too. For example, if people are stressed in understanding how to pay a utility bill, what their insurance covers or whether they can afford a loan, they are likely to call for help. It would be much more efficient for firms to be clear in the initial communication.
How can a Plain Numbers Approach help people with maths anxiety
Plain Numbers is all about making the way that numbers are communicated to consumers clearer, so that more people can understand and make informed decisions.
When implemented, a Plain Numbers approach can mean less maths is left to the consumer to get the information they need. This makes the communication more accessible to people who have maths anxiety.
It also makes financial communications less overwhelming. Often the sight of lots of numbers can put people off engaging with decisions altogether. By using an approach that has this in mind and ensures numbers do not appear intimidating it allows maths anxious customers to make better decisions.
The Plain Numbers Approach has been proven to work. It more than doubled customer comprehension in our trials. But too often the needs of people who feel anxious about maths are not recognised in content design, making them more financially vulnerable.
At Plain Numbers, we’re helping to change that.
