It's never too early to enjoy math (or not): The emergence of children's emotions toward math in the preschool years

Acquiring mathematical competence is a complex process that begins in early childhood, long before formal schooling. Even though emotional experiences associated with mathematical activities are theorized to influence motivation, engagement and learning outcomes, research on the emergence of math-related emotions in preschool-aged children remains scarce. The present study investigates whether children aged 4-to-5 years already manifest differentiated emotional responses toward math and how these emotions relate to their self-concept and actual math abilities. A total of 384 Italian preschoolers completed a 9-item scale assessing joy, fear and sadness in response to age-appropriate math tasks. Results from structural equation modeling revealed that children’s emotions could be reliably differentiated along the dimension of valence (i.e., positive vs. negative emotions) but not arousal (i.e., activating vs. deactivating). This structure was invariant across age and gender. Bayesian correlation analyses further demonstrated that children with more positive emotions toward math reported higher math self-concept and performed better on standardized early math tests. These findings provide novel evidence that preschool-aged children, even prior to formal instruction, are capable of differentiating basic academic emotions and aligning them with their emerging mathematical competence. The results have theoretical implications for understanding the early interplay between affective and cognitive processes in math learning, and practical relevance for early childhood educators and parents, emphasizing the importance of supporting positive emotional experiences during early numeracy activities. By revealing how math-related emotions begin to differentiate in early childhood, this study fills an important gap in the literature and provides a foundation for interventions that support both emotional and mathematical development from the earliest years.