<p> The current study investigated the effectiveness of using a brief mindfulness intervention for reducing test anxiety with college students, with the related goals of increasing level of mindfulness and increasing performance on a word list recall task. The effectiveness of incorporating an environmental cue, meant to act as a reminder for participants to engage in mindfulness, was also explored. Sixty-four college students were assigned to one of four groups: each group differed according to the presence or absence of the mindfulness training and environmental cue. Participants receiving mindfulness training could choose to participate in up to four 30-minute mindfulness training sessions over a two-week period. Each participant was assessed for level of test anxiety, level of mindfulness, and number of correct words recalled from a word list recall task both before and after the mindfulness training. Difference scores revealed no significant main effects or interactions related to the availability of mindfulness training or the presence of an environmental cue. However, both groups that received mindfulness training saw non-significant increases in level of mindfulness while decreases in mindfulness were seen for the groups that did not receive training. Exploratory analyses in regards to relationships found for both pre-test and post-test measures revealed significant correlations, such that as test anxiety scores decreased, mindfulness scores increased. Other interesting relationships included a positive correlation between test anxiety and the mindfulness Observing subscale, such that higher levels of test anxiety are associated with a student’s increased ability to notice their inner experiences, and a negative correlation between the test anxiety Emotionality subscale and the mindfulness Nonjudging subscale, such that decreased autonomic responses, are associated with a student’s increased ability to not judge those inner experiences. Implications for future research and limitations of the current study are discussed.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10163268 |
| Date | 01 December 2016 |
| Creators | Savoie, Seth J. |
| Publisher | University of Louisiana at Lafayette |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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