Background: Noise exposure is a prevalent environmental factor in learning environments that may interfere with students’ cognitive processes and emotional states. Objective: This study examined whether cognitive load mediates the relationship between noise exposure and mathematics anxiety among undergraduate mathematics students in Malaysia. Methods: The study involved 387 undergraduate mathematics majors from four Malaysian universities. Classroom noise levels (equivalent continuous A-weighted sound level LAeq, maximum sound level during the lecture LAmax, background noise level exceeded for 90% of the time LA90) were measured using a Class 1 precision sound level meter, while mathematics anxiety and cognitive load were assessed using the Brief Math Anxiety Scale and the cognitive load inventory. Pearson correlations and path analysis with bootstrapping (5000 resamples) using the SPSS PROCESS macro were employed to test the hypothesised mediation model. Results: Noise exposure was positively associated with cognitive load ( β = 0.115, P < 0.001) and mathematics anxiety ( β = 0.074, P < 0.001). Cognitive load significantly predicted mathematics anxiety ( β = 0.407, P < 0.001) and partially mediated the relationship between noise exposure and mathematics anxiety (indirect effect β = 0.047, 95% confidence interval 0.032, 0.064). The model explained 42.1% of the variance in cognitive load and 55.5% of the variance in mathematics anxiety. Conclusion: Classroom noise increases students’ perceived cognitive load, which in turn amplifies mathematics anxiety. Optimising classroom acoustics and instructional design to minimise extraneous cognitive load may improve students’ emotional well-being and cognitive performance in mathematics learning.
Wang et al. (Sun,) studied this question.