Students at the graduate level undergo higher levels of stress compared to their peers, and this stress is known to affect academic performance. Most of the research is focused on the negative aspect of stress. Positive psychology aspects, such as eustress and flow, are related to success in some activities; however, it is unknown whether these correlate with academic performance. Several stress-related theories-Yerkes-Dodson curve, cybernetics, conservation of resources, and choking under pressure-guided this quantitative study of the effects of eustress, flow, and cognitive test anxiety (CTA) on a psychomotor practical examination for physical therapy students. A sample of 192 physical therapy graduate students across 3 campuses and 5 programs participated. Immediately following a standard psychomotor practical examination, and prior to any performance feedback, participants' levels of eustress, flow, and CTA were measured. All 3 variables had statistically significant bivariate correlations with exam score, and in the expected direction. In a standard multiple regression flow was the only statistically significant predictor; exam scores increased as flow increased. A follow-up analysis revealed that flow mediated (a) the positive relationship between eustress and exam score, and (b) the negative relationship between CTA and exam score, mitigating CTA's negative effect. Results suggest positive social change interventions focused on enhancing positive psychological states could improve academic performance and clinical training, leading to better clinical practice performance and outcomes for patients.

En 2015, la Fédération des cégeps du Québec soulignait que la santé mentale des cégépiens constituait une inquiétude croissante : l’anxiété liée aux évaluations, les symptômes dépressifs et la préoccupation à l’égard de la réussite scolaire touchent une proportion inquiétante d’étudiants. Conséquemment, le but de la présente étude était d’explorer le rôle modérateur et potentiellement protecteur de l’adaptation au cégep, sous les angles de l’adaptation sociale et de l’attachement institutionnel, au sein des relations entre l’anxiété liée aux évaluations, les symptômes dépressifs et le rendement scolaire. Des étudiants en première année du Cégep régional de Lanaudière à Joliette (n = 513; 63,5% de filles) ont complété, aux sessions d’automne 2016 et d’hiver 2017, des questionnaires autorapportés sur leur niveau d’adaptation sociale, d’attachement envers l’institution scolaire, d’anxiété liée aux évaluations, de symptômes dépressifs et de rendement scolaire. Les résultats ont indiqué que l’anxiété liée aux évaluations en première session ne prédit pas la cote R en fin de première session ni les symptômes dépressifs à la session d’hiver. Toutefois, les symptômes dépressifs à la première session prédisent négativement la cote R en fin de cette même session. Aussi, une cote R plus faible à la session d’automne influence l’augmentation de symptômes dépressifs à l’hiver. Enfin, malgré le fait que l’attachement institutionnel ne joue pas un rôle modérateur sur les relations étudiées, l’adaptation sociale, quant à elle, présente une interaction significative dans les relations bidirectionnelles entre l’anxiété et le rendement. Des implications sur les plans théorique et pratique en lien avec les résultats sont discutées. / In 2015, the Fédération des cégeps du Québec noted that the mental health of cegep students as a growing concern: test anxiety, depressive symptoms, and worry about academic success affects a disturbing proportion of students. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to explore the moderating and potentially protective role of cegep adjustment, from the angles of social adaptation and institutional attachment, within the relationships between test anxiety, depressive symptoms, and academic performance. First-year students at Cégep régional de Lanaudière in Joliette (n = 513; 63.5% female) completed self-reported questionnaires in the fall 2016 and winter 2017 semesters on their level of social adjustment, attachment to the institution, test anxiety, depressive symptoms, and academic performance. Results indicated that test anxiety in the first semester did not predict R score at the end of the first semester nor depressive symptoms in the winter semester. However, depressive symptoms in the first semester did negatively predict the R score at the end of the first semester. Also, a lower R score in the fall semester influenced the increase in depressive symptoms in the winter. Finally, although institutional attachment did not play a moderating role on the studied relationships, social adjustment shows a significant interaction in the bidirectional relationship between anxiety and performance. Theoretical and practical implications related to the results are discussed.

Thèse de doctorat présentée en vue de l'obtention du doctorat en psychologie (Ph.D) / Depuis les dernières années, un problème en particulier semble de plus en plus reconnu par les différents acteurs de la santé et des services sociaux : l’anxiété de performance scolaire. Elle se définit par un ensemble de réponses cognitives, physiologiques et comportementales à un contexte d’évaluation scolaire. Les études relèvent que jusqu’à 43 % des jeunes vivraient de l’anxiété de performance scolaire modérée à élevée. L’anxiété de performance scolaire est un problème complexe et multifactoriel. Malgré le peu de recherches longitudinales sur le sujet, différentes associations ont été observées concernant notamment le rôle de facteurs individuels (genre féminin, distorsions cognitives et préoccupations perfectionnistes, comportements d’évitement, stratégies d’étude inefficaces, etc.) et de facteurs environnementaux (manque de soutien parental, promotion d’aspirations extrinsèques de la part des parents ou du milieu scolaire, négativité du personnel enseignant, environnement de classe compétitif). Ces facteurs contribueraient au développement de l’anxiété de performance scolaire et à son maintien. La littérature montre que ce type d’anxiété engendre plusieurs conséquences négatives, telles que des difficultés psychologiques et scolaires. Bien que les chercheurs s’intéressent de plus en plus à l’anxiété de performance scolaire, à notre connaissance, aucun programme validé n’a encore été développé pour ce problème dans les écoles secondaires du Québec. Dans ce contexte, l’objectif de cette thèse était d’abord de développer une intervention basée sur les données probantes pour réduire l’anxiété de performance scolaire, soit le programme Pastel. Ce programme est une intervention brève de groupe d’approche cognitivo-comportementale pour les adolescents, combinant l’apprentissage d’habiletés d’étude et d’organisation. Cette thèse comporte cinq chapitres. Le premier chapitre est une introduction générale permettant de situer le contexte de cette recherche. Le deuxième chapitre présente le contexte théorique sous la forme d’un chapitre de livre. Le troisième chapitre, sous forme d’un article, présente les résultats de l’évaluation des effets du programme Pastel l, tandis que le quatrième chapitre, également sous forme d’un article, présente les résultats de l’évaluation des mécanismes de changement du programme. Plus précisément, à l’aide d’un devis randomisé contrôlé composé de 48 adolescents répartis en deux groupes (intervention et contrôle), les résultats montrent une réduction de l’anxiété de performance scolaire à court terme plus importante chez les adolescents ayant participé au programme comparativement aux participants du groupe contrôle. Un large effet est également observé chez les participants du groupe d’intervention entre le pré-test et le post-test, ainsi qu’entre le pré-test et le suivi six mois plus tard (chapitre III). Des analyses qualitatives se basant sur des entrevues de groupe réalisées auprès de 21 participants et des entrevues individuelles réalisées auprès de neuf animateurs ont permis d’identifier onze thèmes pouvant expliquer les effets bénéfiques du programme, soit six qui concernent les mécanismes de changement spécifiques : 1) capacités d’auto-observation, 2) distorsions cognitives, 3) résolution de problèmes, 4) comportements d’évitement, 4) habiletés d’organisation et d’étude et 5) gestion des tensions physiologiques, ainsi que cinq qui concernent les mécanismes de changement généraux : 1) format de groupe, 2) motivation et engagement, 3) renforcement, 4) matériel adapté aux participants et 5) schèmes relationnels (chapitre IV). Finalement, le dernier chapitre de cette thèse présente une discussion générale ainsi qu’une courte conclusion. / In recent years, one problem in particular seems to have been increasingly recognized by the health and social services actors: test anxiety. It is defined by cognitive, physiological and behavioral responses in an academic assessment context. Studies show that up to 43% of adolescents experience moderate to high levels of test anxiety. Test anxiety is a complex and multifactorial problem. Despite the lack of longitudinal research on the subject, different associations have been observed with regard to individual factors (female gender, cognitive distortions and perfectionist concerns, avoidance behaviors, ineffective study skills) and environmental factors (lack of parental support, promotion of extrinsic aspirations by parents or school environment, negativity of teachers, competitive classroom environment). These factors can contribute to the development and maintenance of test anxiety. The literature shows that this type of anxiety has several negative consequences such as psychological and academic difficulties. Although an increasing amount of research is being conducted on test anxiety, to our knowledge, no validated program has yet been developed for test anxiety in Quebec high schools. In this context, the objective of this thesis was to develop an evidence-based intervention to reduce test anxiety, namely the Pastel program. Based on a cognitive-behavioral approach combining study skills, this program is a brief group intervention for adolescents. This thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter is a general introduction of the context of this research. The second one presents a theoretical background of test anxiety in the form of a book chapter. The third chapter, in the form of an article, presents the results of the evaluation of the effects of the Pastel program, while the fourth chapter, also in the form of an article, presents the results of the evaluation of the mechanisms of change. More specifically, we used a randomized controlled trial composed of 48 adolescents divided into two groups (intervention vs control). The results show a greater decrease in short-term of test anxiety in adolescents who participated in the program in contrast to participants in the control group. A larger effect is also observed among participants in the intervention group between pretest and post-test, as well as between pretest and the six-month follow-up (chapter III). Qualitative analyzes based on group interviews with 21 participants and individual interviews with nine animators identified eleven themes that could explain the beneficial effects of the program. Five are related to specific mechanisms of change: 1) self-observation skills, 2) cognitive distortions, 3) problem-solving, 4) avoidance behaviors, 5) organizational and study skills, and 6) management of physiological stress, and five are related to general mechanisms of change: 1) group format, 2) motivation and commitment, 3) reinforcement, 4) material adapted to the participants and 5) relational schemes (chapter IV). Finally, the last chapter of this thesis presents a general discussion and a short conclusion.

This research study was motivated by a hypothesis, generated on the basis of formal and informal observations, personal and professional experiences, discussions with prospective teachers and a pilot study conducted by this author; that pre-service teachers have a high level of mathematics anxiety and negative attitudes about mathematics. The primary purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between mathematics anxiety and pre-service teachers. The secondary purposes of this study were to examine the relationship between anxiety and performance and to examine the relationship between math anxiety, test anxiety, and stereotype threat. A quantitative experimental research design was used to investigate the research questions. The population consisted of prospective teachers at colleges and universities in Louisiana. The sets of data are mathematics anxiety of prospective teachers, a test anxiety inventory and a mathematics performance task. A personal data questionnaire was used to gather demographic information and attitudinal information about the participants. The implications of this study for elementary teacher education programs point to increased attention on the mathematics anxiety of pre-service teachers. This process is two-fold. One, it is recommended that pre-service teachers be made aware of their mathematics anxiety level and their attitudes about mathematics and two, it is recommended that teacher education programs acknowledge and address the importance of these affective variables and their role in pedagogy.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the role that humanistic techniques play in reducing feelings of language anxiety associated with oral communication in the TESOL classroom. Students in the experimental group attended classes which incorporated humanistic techniques such as journal writing and group work and where the affective needs of the students were taken into account. Students in the control group were provided with the normal course content along more traditional lines and their affective needs were not taken into account. Language anxiety was measured by means of questionnaires, journals and interviews. The results revealed that general feelings of anxiety about oral communication decreased in the experimental group. The experimental group achieved higher scores in the final written examination although there was no significant difference in the oral examination results between the two groups. The drop-out rate in the experimental group was lower than that of the control group. / English Studies / M.A.

摘 要 本研究主要目的在於： 一、探討成就目標理論最新的發展趨勢。 二、探討考試焦慮在自我調節的學習策略中的內涵意義。 三、探討成就目標、學習策略、考試焦慮三者對學業表現的影響。 四、建構出成就目標、學習策略、考試焦慮、學業表現四者間的因果模式。 五、歸納研究結果，做為老師教學與輔導之參考，並對未來相關研究提出建議。 本研究採問卷調查方式，以多階段叢集抽樣方式進行，分別在全省北中南東四區各抽取3至4個縣市，每個縣市再隨機抽取一個學校，共抽得14個學校，每個學校再隨機抽取國一、國二、國三各一班，共計樣本1332人。調查工具有三，其一為Elliot & McGregor（2001）編製的「成就目標量表」、其二為改編自吳靜吉、程炳林（民81）修訂Pintrich, Smith, & McKeachie（1989）所編的「激勵的學習策略量表」（MSLQ）而成的「學習策略量表」、其三為余民寧（民92）所編製的「考試焦慮量表」。調查所得資料以描述統計、t檢定、單因子變異數分析、多元回歸分析、典型相關分析及結構方程模式SEM加以處理。 本研究得到以下結論： 一、國中生具有多種成就目標，教師需妥善引導。 二、國中生情緒調節能力稍弱，而以男生、高年級、北部學生最差。 三、認知焦慮較情緒焦慮對數學成績的影響力大，女生尤其較男生具有更高的認知焦慮。但是情緒焦慮對一年級的影響較其他年級大。 四、國中一年級學生相對於其他年級有較多的目標導向及較高的情緒焦慮，而在認知焦慮上各年級無差異。 五、在四種成就目標上，都是高焦慮組較高。在學習策略上，高焦慮組在一般認知、資源經營策略上較高，但在情緒調節上則以低焦慮組較高。在數學成績的比較上，低焦慮組較高。 六、對數學成績最具預測效果的因素有四：趨向精熟目標、認知評價過程及資源經營策略、考試焦慮中的認知焦慮。 七、逃避精熟目標、認知焦慮、情緒調節三者關係密切 八、考試焦慮與學習策略間具負向回饋圈特性，可以解釋兩者間無關的事實。 九、成就目標與學習行為的關係模式經修正後可適配，但模式不夠精簡。 最後，根據研究結果提出各項建議，以供教學實務上及未來研究參考。 關鍵詞：成就目標、學習策略、考試焦慮、情緒調節、結構方程模式 / The Relationship of Achievement Goals and Learning Behaviors Abstract The purpose of the present research is to: 一、discuss the recent development trends of achievement goals theory. 二、discuss the implication of test anxiety in self-regulatory learning strategy. 三、discuss the influence of achievement goals, learning strategies, and test anxiety on academic performance 四、construct the structure equation model (SEM) among achievement goals, learning strategies, test anxiety, and academic performance 五、induce the outcomes of the present research to submit a little suggestion as reference to teaching, guidance, and future related research The present research adopted a questionnaire survey in multiple-staged cluster sampling. First of all, sampling 3~4 cities or counties for each of four regions in Taiwan (including the north, the central, the south, and the east regions of the country). Then one junior high school was sampled for each cities and counties mentioned above. Finally, 14 schools were sampled. For each of those schools, one class of each grade was sampled, yielding a total of 1332 junior high school students. The tools of the present questionnaire survey were three. The first one was “achievement goals inventory” made by Elliot & McGregor (2001). Another one was “motivated strategies for learning questionnaire” (MSLQ) made by Pintrich, Smith, & McKeachie (1989), but the present research use its Chinese version revised by Wu & Cherng (1992). The other was “test anxiety inventory” made by Yu (2003). The raw data collected after the survey was handled with descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, multiple regression analysis, canonic correlation and structure equation model (SEM). The conclusions of the present research are: 一、Junior high school students have multiple achievement goals, so teachers have to guide them carefully. 二、In contrast to the other three learning strategies, junior high school students have weaker emotion regulation strategy, specifically, male, senior, and the north junior high school students were the weakest. 三、Cognitive test anxiety has more influence on math than what the emotionality component does. Females have higher cognitive test anxiety than male, and emotionality component has more influence on juniors than the others. 四、In contrast to the other two grades, juniors have more diverse achievement goals and higher emotionality component, however, there is no difference of cognitive test anxiety among three grades. 五、Regarding the comparison between high and low test anxiety groups, the high one scored higher in multiple achievement goals, and general cognition, resource management of the learning strategies, but scored lower in emotion regulation of the learning strategies and math. 六、The best effect predictors of math scores were mastery-approach achievement goal, and cognitive appraisal process, resource management of the learning strategies, cognitive test anxiety. 七、Mastery-avoidance achievement goal, cognitive test anxiety, and emotion regulation of the learning strategies were closely related. 八、There is a negative feedback loop between test anxiety and learning strategy, which explains the low correlation between test anxiety and learning strategy. 九、SEM for the relationship of achievement goals and learning behaviors can fit the raw data collected well after modification by modification index, but the model is not parsimonious enough. Finally, according to the outcome, the present research submits a little suggestion for future research, and gives some advice for the practice of teaching. Key words: achievement goals, learning strategy, test anxiety, emotion regulation, structure equation model

Cette thèse a pour objet l’étude de la perception par les enfants du soutien conditionnel parental et enseignant, défini comme un soutien vu comme dépendant de l’atteinte des exigences fixées par ces adultes (Harter, 1999). Deux objectifs sont poursuivis dans ce travail. Le premier étudie l’évolution d’une telle perception lors de la transition entre le primaire et le secondaire. Pour ce faire, nous devions disposer d’un outil de mesure. Nous avons testé, dans trois études, les qualités psychométriques d’une échelle de perception du soutien conditionnel parental et enseignant dans le domaine scolaire auprès d’élèves de CM2 et de 6ème. Les analyses sur l’instrument ont mis en évidence trois dimensions dans le soutien conditionnel : un soutien conditionnel d’estime (parental et enseignant), un soutien conditionnel émotionnel parental et un soutien conditionnel émotionnel enseignant. Concernant le premier objectif, les résultats révèlent que la perception du soutien conditionnel émotionnel parental est stable du CM2 à la 6ème. La perception du soutien conditionnel émotionnel enseignant est aussi stable entre le début et la fin du CM2, mais diminue en 6ème alors que celle du soutien d’estime diminue faiblement au cours du temps. Le deuxième objectif vise à vérifier les liens entre ce soutien conditionnel parental et enseignant et la perception de compétence scolaire des élèves. Nous supposions (1) que les différents types de soutien conditionnel perçu seraient liés négativement à la perception des élèves de leur compétence scolaire, (2) que ces relations seraient médiatisées par l’anxiété envers l’évaluation et la sensibilité à l’erreur et (3) que le lien entre le soutien parental et la perception de compétence scolaire des élèves serait modéré par le soutien conditionnel émotionnel enseignant. Nos résultats montrent que le soutien conditionnel émotionnel parental et le soutien conditionnel émotionnel enseignant sont bien liés négativement à la perception de compétence scolaire et que seule l’anxiété d’évaluation médiatise cette relation. Le soutien conditionnel d’estime n’est pas lié à la perception de compétence quand le soutien conditionnel émotionnel est contrôlé. Enfin, le soutien conditionnel émotionnel parental et le soutien conditionnel enseignant interagissent pour prédire la perception de compétence scolaire : sous une perception élevée du soutien conditionnel d’une source, la perception du soutien conditionnel de l’autre source n’est plus liée à la perception de compétence scolaire. Pris dans leur ensemble, nos résultats confortent les études qui soulignent les effets néfastes du soutien conditionnel perçu en termes d’adaptation scolaire et sociale (e.g., Assor, Roth, & Deci, 2004 ; Côté, Bouffard, & Vezeau, 2014 ; Makri-Botsari, 2015). Ils ajoutent aux connaissances en montrant l’importance du soutien conditionnel de l’enseignant dans cette même adaptation. / This thesis focuses on children perception of the conditional support provided by their parents and teachers. Conditional support refers to a support that depends on succeeding to achieve standards set by these adults (Harter, 1999). This work has two objectives. The first aims at studying the evolution of the perception of the adults’ conditional support during the transition from primary to secondary school. To do so, a series of three studies was conducted to test the psychometric properties of an instrument devoted to assess the perception of students from the 5th and 6th grades that the availability of their parents and teachers support was conditional to their academic achievement. Factorial analyses (EFA and CFA) revealed the presence of three types of conditional support: an esteem conditional support common to parents and teachers, a parents’ emotional conditional support and a teachers’ emotional conditional support. Regarding our first objective, results reveal that the perception of parents’ emotional conditional support is stable across the transition to secondary school. Teachers’ emotional conditional support is stable between the beginning and the end of 5th grade, but decreases during the 6th grade. The esteem conditional support slowly drops throughout the whole period. Our second objective is to verify the links between perception of conditional support from parents and teachers and the students’ perception of their scholastic competence. We hypothesised (1) that all types of conditional support would be negatively linked to the students’ perception of their scholastic competence, (2) that anxiety towards evaluation and sensitivity to error would mediate these relations and (3) that the teacher’s emotional conditional support would moderate the link between the parents’ conditional support and the students’ perception of their scholastic competence. Our results show that the emotional conditional support from both the parents and the teacher are negatively linked to the perception of scholastic competence and that only anxiety mediates these relations. The esteem conditional support is unrelated to the perception of scholastic competence when emotional conditional support is controlled. Finally, the parents’ emotional conditional support and the teachers’ conditional support interact to predict the perception of scholastic competence: under a high perception of conditional support from one source, the perception of conditional support from the other source is no more linked to the perception of scholastic competence. Altogether, our results strengthen previous studies that underline the deleterious effects of perceived conditional support on social and academic adaptation (e.g., Assor et al., 2004 ; Côté et al., 2014 ; Makri-Botsari, 2015). They bring new knowledge by showing the importance of teacher conditional support for this adaptation.

Im Rahmen einer über zwei Schuljahre andauernden quasi-experimentellen Interventionsstudie wurden Lehrkräfte dreier Berliner Oberschulen geschult, durch ein modifiziertes Unterrichtsverhalten und die Einführung von Förderstrategien in ihren Fachunterricht motivational relevante Ressourcen und Risikofaktoren ihrer Schülerinnen und Schüler positiv zu beeinflussen (schulische Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung, Prüfungsängstlichkeit, schulbezogenes Stresserleben und wahrgenommene Binnendifferenzierung im Unterricht). Ziele der vorliegenden Untersuchung sind die Evaluation der Wirksamkeit der Maßnahmen im Hinblick auf die genannten Zielkriterien sowie die Analyse der Effekte in Abhängigkeit von der durch die Schüler wahrgenommenen Umsetzung der Interventionen. Zu Beginn und am Ende des ersten sowie am Ende des zweiten Projektjahres wurden drei standardisierte Befragungen mit 570 Siebt- und Achtklässlern von drei Interventions- und drei Kontrollschulen durchgeführt. Die mehrebenenanalytische Untersuchung der Programmeffekte belegt am Ende des ersten Projektjahres bei den Interventionsschülern im Vergleich zur Kontrollgruppe erwartungskonform günstigere Entwicklungen in der Prüfungsängstlichkeit, der wahrgenommenen schulbezogenen Bedrohung – einer Unterkomponente des Stresserlebens – und der wahrgenommenen Binnendifferenzierung. Darüber hinaus zeigen sich positive Zusammenhänge zwischen dem Ausmaß der von den Schülern wahrgenommenen Umsetzung der Interventionen und weiteren untersuchten Variablen (z. B. der schulischen Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung). Die Ergebnisse weisen somit auf die motivationale Relevanz der Fördermaßnahmen speziell des ersten Projektjahres hin. Zudem verdeutlichen die Analysen, dass bei schulischen Interventionen durch Lehrkräfte als Multiplikatoren nicht von einer einheitlichen Umsetzung ausgegangen werden kann und Veränderungen in der Interventionsgruppe auch vom Ausmaß der wahrgenommenen Umsetzung abhängen. / In the context of a quasi-experimental research project, conducted over two years, teachers of three Berlin secondary schools were trained in new teaching strategies to positively influence students’ motivational resources and risk factors. The aim of this study is to evaluate the program’s effects on students’ academic self-efficacy, test anxiety, school-related stress as well as internal differentiation and to analyze these effects as a function of students’ perception of the program’s implementation. At the beginning of the first project year and at the end of the first and second project years standardized surveys were conducted in three experimental schools and three control schools with 570 students in the seventh and eighth grades. As expected, multilevel analysis showed significant effects in students’ test anxiety, perceived threat – a component of stress – as well as internal differentiation at the end of the first project year: Test anxiety and perceived threat were significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group, whereas internal differentiation was higher in the experimental group. In addition correlations were found between student’s perception of the program’s implementation and several other variables under study (e.g. self-efficacy). The results therefore underline the program’s relevance for motivational resources and risk factors. This is particularly true for the first year interventions. Furthermore, the results indicate that program implementation varies between teachers and that implementation quantity considerably affects program effects.