The effects of test anxiety on behavioral inhibition were examined using three computerized behavioral tasks. High test anxious subjects demonstrated more behavioral inhibition than low test anxious subjects, according to frequency measures on two of the three behavioral tasks. Group differences in latency measures were not found, however. High test anxious subjects reported higher levels of state anxiety than low test anxious subjects. Increased behavioral inhibition was greater for the Punishment condition, which involved the loss of points and negative audio-visual feedback for incorrect responses, than for the Non-Reward condition. Contrary to initial predictions, group differences were found to be greater in the Non-Reward condition than in the Punishment condition. / Ph. D.

Children with high test anxiety are more likely to exhibit performance decrements under evaluative situations, to repeat a grade, and to experience other forms of anxiety and depression than children with low test anxiety. Two types of test anxiety have been proposed for adults: Type A, a circumscribed anxiety only in testing situations, and Type B, test anxiety with concurrent general anxiety and worry in other areas. The primary purpose of this study was to apply the concept of Type A and Type B test anxiety to children and adolescents. An attempt was made to determine what factors differentiate Type A and Type B test anxiety in children and adolescents. A second purpose of this study was to investigate gender and age differences in test anxiety and its correlates. 574 subjects from fourth, seventh, and tenth grade classrooms in Montgomery County Public Schools participated in the study. These subjects were divided into four categories: Type A (hi test/lo general anxiety), Type B (hi test/hi general anxiety), lo test/hi general anxiety, and lo test/lo general anxiety. Subjects were administered questionnaires on test anxiety, general anxiety, depression, fear, and cognitions. In addition, school grades, school absences, and achievement and ability test scores were examined. There were almost four times as many Type B children than Type A children in this sample. Results indicated that there were no differences between children with Type A and children with Type B test anxiety on the above-mentioned measures. However, children with test anxiety, whether Type A or Type B, were more likely to report higher levels of general anxiety, depression, and fear and to experience cognitive interference during test-taking. Children with test anxiety were also more likely to have lower grades in school and to sore lower on achievement and ability tests. In this sample, females consistently scored higher on the self-report measures, but no age differences were found. It was suggested that the lack of Type A/Type B differentiation may have been due to the presence of negative affectivity in children, differences between adults and children, or methodological issues. issues for future research were discussed. / Master of Science

The major purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a stress-inoculation treatment and an equally credible attention-placebo control in alleviating self-reported test anxiety and in facilitating intellectual performance in nontraditional (aged 50 and over) college students. Many studies have demonstrated the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral approaches in the treatment of test anxiety among young college students. The literature suggests that persons returning to school after a long absence who have subsequently enrolled as college students experience greater test anxiety and decrements in test performance in evaluative situations than their younger counterparts.

Thesis (Ed. S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Psychology, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 22-23).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of "game" and "test" instructions on the intelligence test performance of high- and low-test-anxious children. Eighty-one subjects diagnosed as learning disabled were given the Test Anxiety Scale for Children (TASC) to determine their level of test anxiety. Based on TASC scores, 44 subjects were classified as either fljgj- or low- test-anxious. These subjects were given the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) using either game or test instructions to introduce the test. The resulting 10 and subtest configuration scores were used to compare high- and low-test-anxious subjects by the type of instructions they received prior to testing. This comparison yielded no significant differences between high and low-test-anxious subjects, indicating that the way the WISC-R is Introduced does not play a significant role in the WISC-R performance of high- and low-test-anxious children.

Den här studien syftar till att undersöka hur elevers matematikprestationer påverkas av eventuell prov- och / eller matematikångest, om det finns åtgärder som reducerar eventuellprov- och / eller matematikångest och om lärarens sätt att examinera har betydelse. För att besvara syftet söker studien svar på hur matematiklärare förstår prov- och / eller matematikångest, på vilket sätt de beskriver att de försöker hjälpa elever att reducera sådan ångest och om matematiklärare ser examinationsformen som faktor för utlösande av prov- och/ eller matematikångest. Resultaten visar att provångest är situationsbunden och utlöses i stressande situationer när personer tror att de befinner sig i en bedömningssituation. Det kan leda till sämre förmåga att koncentrera sig på uppgifterna. Det finns utöver detta risk att den utlösta provångesten triggarigång matematikångest, vilket i sin tur kan leda till ytterligare sämre förmåga att koncentrera sig på uppgifterna, försämrad prestation och dåliga provresultat. Matematikångest kan också utlösas på grund av social påverkan, dåligt självförtroende samt biologiska faktorer, den beror således inte enbart på provångest. För att reducera provångest krävs att lärare får kunskap om hanteringen av känslor som uppstår så att de kan hjälpa elevernaatt förstå och handskas med sina känslor. Åtgärder mot matematikångest handlar om att förebygga att elever hamnar efter i grundläggande kunskaper i matematik, alternativt reparera brister så fort de upptäcks och att undvika och bearbeta negativa associationer förknippat med matematik. Lärare som intervjuades i denna studie hade endast begränsad kunskap om provångest ochmatematikångest och om hur dessa kan reduceras eller förebyggas. Deras svar antydde dessutom att de inte hade kännedom om att det är två olika typer av ångest och att dessa behöver olika sätt för att reduceras eller åtgärdas. De använde inte variation av examinationsformer som ett medel för att hjälpa sina elever trots att de i princip var överens om att olika examinationsformer kan uppfattas som olika stressande och att alternativa examinationsformerskulle kunna reducera denna stress som leder till provångest och eventuellt vidare till utlösandet av matematikångest. Konsekvensen av detta är att elever inte får den hjälpen de behöver, eller att de får fel hjälp och att de därmed riskerar att misslyckas trots att det hade varit möjligt att lösa.

Literature reports that test anxiety may have an influence on aptitude test performance for some racial groups and therefore serves as a source of bias (Zeidner, 1998). Testing organisations have also found that individuals from African groups perform poorly on measures of fluid intelligence, putting them at a disadvantage when these scores are used for selection and training purposes. The current study examines a model defining the relationship between test anxiety, attentional resources and fluid intelligence in the following manner: an increase in test anxiety will result in a decrease of attentional resources as well as a decrease in fluid intelligence. With a decrease in attentional resources we will see a negative influence on fluid intelligence and test performance for different racial groups. Twenty-five African individuals and twenty-five individuals from Caucasian racial groups have set the stage to answer the question if certain groups experience higher test anxiety and thus perform poorly on fluid intelligence measures. Significant relationships were found, within and between groups, for attentional resources and fluid intelligence. Meanwhile, other factors, such as test anxiety, were not strongly associated with fluid intelligence performance. Future research into reasons why certain racial groups display lower overall attention in testing situations is suggested in order to ensure that tests for selection and training and aptitude tests are fair to all racial groups. / Psychology / M.A. Soc. Sc.(Psychology)

The Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA), a high-stakes exam mandatory for all Standard 5 students in Trinidad and Tobago, is posited to be anxiety inducing. The purpose of this correlational research was to examine the relationships among the psychological constructs of the achievement goal theory, and students’ test anxiety. The study specifically looked at whether relationships exist among students’ (n= 215) perceptions of their parents’, teachers’, and classroom goals; their own achievement goals; and their cognitive anxiety about the SEA. The results revealed that students’ personal achievement goals were not associated with SEA cognitive anxiety, but their perceptions of parents’, teachers’, and classroom goals were significantly associated. Perceived avoidance goal messages from peers were also significantly associated with students’ cognitive anxiety, and with tendencies to avoid displaying normative incompetence or failure. Results from this study can be useful for future research in the area of social and emotional learning in Trinidad and Tobago by investigating the effect increased social awareness, through empathy development, has on reducing students’ test anxiety and improving task-engagement, peer relationships, and general academic performance. / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to determine whether psychological stress, specifically examination stress, would decrease immune system functioning. Twenty-five first-year master's and doctoral students who volunteered to participate in the study were psychologically and immunologically assessed during two high- and two low-stress periods. Immunological assessments included a white blood cell differential count and nitroblue tetrazolium test (NBT) to measure neutrophil functioning. Psychological instruments administered at each assessment period included Clinical Analysis Questionnaire (CAQ), Bender Gestalt Test, State- Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and a Brief Stress Questionnaire. Stepwise discriminant function analysis of data revealed five variables which contributed significantly to change under stress and yielded an average canonical correlation of .79 (p < .002) providing evidence of support for the hypothesis that increased psychological stress will alter immune functioning and heighten psychological responses.

The investigation was concerned with determining the effectiveness of group systematic desensitization and group covert positive reinforcement, with a control group. The two treatment conditions were to be compared if both were effective in reducing test anxiety as measured by the College Form of the Test Anxiety Questionnaire. Three groups were employed, two treatment and one control group, with four subjects in each. An analysis of covariance yielded insignificant results at the .05 level. A review of the literature was presented, procedural aspects of the treatments were covered, and possible reasons for the insignificant results were discussed.