World Education Connect Multidisciplinary e-Publication, Vol. VI, Issue I (January 2026), pp,699-714
Jovito R. Manuel Jr
Lyceum-Northwestern University
Institute of Graduate and Professional Studies
Dagupan City
Abstract
This study investigated Numerical Amnesia by examining the cognitive and affective causes underlying the failure of non-numerate adults to retrieve and apply basic mathematical skills. Think-Aloud Protocols revealed multi-point cognitive breakdowns, including lacking automaticity of core facts, working memory overload during sequencing, and a fundamental lack of conceptual understanding (e.g., place value). These failures are rooted in formative instructional trauma, specifically speed over understanding and public humiliation in elementary school, which created a foundation of math anxiety and caused cognitive disconnection at a "Jump Moment" in mid-elementary grades. Crucially, this failure is cemented by the internalization of a fixed trait belief, the "Non-Math Brain" Identity, which acts as the greatest psychological barrier to remediation and reinforces the affective block to retrieval. The findings indicate that numerical amnesia is a cognitive-affective cycle requiring remediation that de-escalates anxiety while rebuilding conceptual knowledge from the ground up.
Keywords: Numerical Amnesia, Math Anxiety, Rote Memorization, Conceptual Understanding.
https://doi.org/10.65494/pinagpalapublishing.124
