The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of rational desensitization therapy on the reduction of the test anxiety of college students. The feasibility of this approach to test anxiety reduction was examined by comparing the reduction of anxiety of four experimental groups of subjects with the anxiety reduction of subjects in a control group. Students indicating that they had test anxiety were randomly assigned to groups based on the limitations of their schedules. Students assigned to the control group did not participate in the treatment phase of the study. Students comprising the sample were enrolled in Human Growth and Development (Educational Psychology 250) classes during the Spring Quarter of 1971. No exclusions from the study were made on the basis of age, sex, marital status, education, color or creed.The basic design of the study included the selection of test anxious college students. These students attended an orientation and pre treatment testing session. Thirty-two students comprised the original treatment group and twenty-eight were chosen as the control group. Four experimental groups met twice a week for five weeks with an experimentor. The control group of students took the pre and post treatment tests but did not attend group treatment sessions.An analysis of covariance was used to test for significance between the means of the experimental and control groups. In instances where heterogeneity of the regression line was found, a factorial design was used to analyze the level by treatment level interaction of the experimental and control groups on the pre and post tests. Fifteen null hypothesis were tested with the .05 level of confidence necessary for rejection.No significant differences were obtained in the reduction of test anxiety between the means of the composite four rational desensitization groups and the control group as shown by the Suinn Test Anxiety Behavior Scale and the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale. However, the changes were larger for the Suinn and Taylor Scales than for the Digit Symbol sub-test of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.An analysis of the results on the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale, the Suinn Test Anxiety Behavioral Scale and the Digit Symbol sub-test of the WAIS revealed F values of 3.81. 3.55 and 1.53 respectively. An F value of 4.03 was needed for significance at the .05 confidence level.Subjective data, such as comments from experimenters and verbal feedback from subjects who participated in the experimental groups, offer support to warrant continued investigation of rational desensitization therapy as a viable approach to the reduction of test anxiety and to the possibility of its applicability to other types of behavior disorders.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/181423 |
| Date | January 1971 |
| Creators | Threalkill, James H. |
| Contributors | Hollis, Joseph W. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | 118 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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