Why does mathematics make so many people fearful?

Examine the statements in the box that are shown against the letters that are found in the words ‘mathematics’ and ‘number’. These have been identified by Trujillo and Hadfield (1999) and Bibby (2002) as characterising many people’s image of maths lessons at school. The statements that are linked to other letters of the alphabet indicate reactions that are less often associated with mathematics in the literature.