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Abstract

The importance of quantitative literacy in business education cannot be overstated. A barrier to enhancing quantitative skills for many business majors is their math anxiety, an angst some individuals experience when working with numbers. This study explored the relationship between math anxiety, locus of control, and impostor phenomenon in business students. 220 business students (undergraduate and graduate) from a two moderately sized southeastern universities in the United States participated in an online survey that assessed these three phenomena. A linear regression was run to understand the relationships among the variables. The results indicated that more than one fifth of math anxiety was accounted for by students’ belief in the influence of their success and their fear of being outed as incapable. As locus of control becomes more external, math anxiety increases, and as feelings of impostor syndrome increase, so too do feelings of math anxiety. Implications of this study, including tips for recognizing and overcoming locus of control and impostor phenomenon issues are highlighted, areas for future research in business education are outlined, and limitations to the study are addressed.

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