Attitudes of psychology freshmen to mathematics Cover Image

Stav novoupisanih studenata psihologije prema matematici
Attitudes of psychology freshmen to mathematics

Author(s): Lazar Tenjović, Aleksandar Zorić
Subject(s): Education, Psychology
Published by: Društvo psihologa Srbije
Keywords: attitude towards mathematics; education for mathematics;

Summary/Abstract: Two components of the attitude towards mathematics were examined on the groups of psychology and ethnology freshmen using the Attitude to Mathematics Questionnaire by L. Aiken: Enjoyments in mathematics and Value of Mathematics. The means of the psychology students on the two components of the attitude towards mathematics were almost in the middle between those of the civil engineering students on the one side, and those of the ethnology students on the other side. However, considering the markedly asymmetric result distributions on specific components of the attitude towards mathematics, with a view of more real positioning of the psychology students compared with the remaining two groups according to their relation to mathematics, all the subjects were clustered pursuant to their answers to the respective Questionnaire items. The cluster analysis results lead to the conclusion that in their attitude towards mathematics most of the psychology freshmen are closer to the students of those faculties who use mathematics as basic ''tools'' than to the students freshly enrolled in other fields traditionally not employing mathematical ''tools'' in their work. Likewise, a positive attitude towards mathematics prevails in the psychology freshmen.

  • Issue Year: 37/2004
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 209-218
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: Serbian