Concurrent versus retrospective assessment in test anxiety research.

Investigated whether retrospective and concurrent assessments in test anxiety research yield comparable data. A 3?×?2?×?2 (Test Anxiety Level?×?Type of Assessment?×?Final Exam Point) design was used. 234 undergraduates served as Ss. Results indicate that concurrent and retrospective assessment groups did not differ on number of positive thoughts, negative thoughts, bodily sensations, or anxiety levels. Concurrent assessment did not affect test performance. Additional analyses revealed a few significant differences on rank-ordered positive and negative thoughts for the concurrent and retrospective groups assessed at the beginning but not the middle of the test. Other results generally replicated those of J. P. Galassi et al (see record 1981-10475-001). (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive modification of test anxious college students.

Assigned 15 male and 6 female test anxious 17-25 yr. olds (1 high school student and 20 undergraduates) to a group cognitive modification treatment, group desensitization, or a waiting list control group. The cognitive modification group combined an insight-oriented therapy which was designed to make test anxious Ss aware of their anxiety-engendering thoughts with a modified desensitization procedure which employed (a) coping imagery on how to handle anxiety and (b) self-instructional training to attend to the task and not ruminate about oneself. Results indicate that the cognitive modification group was most effective in significantly reducing test anxiety as assessed by (a) test performance obtained in an analog test situation, (b) self-reports given immediately after posttreatment and later at a 1-mo follow-up, and (c) GPA. Following treatment, the test anxious Ss in the cognitive modification group did not differ from a group of 10 low test anxious Ss, and in fact the cognitive modification Ss reported a significant increase in facilitative anxiety. (63 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of preparatory information about sensations, threat of pain, and attention on cold pressor distress.

Three experiments with 170 male undergraduates investigated pain experience conceptualized as a combination of stimulus sensations (e.g., aching) and emotional distress. In Exp I, less distress was reported to cold pressor stimulation by Ss first told about stimulus sensations than by Ss who were uninformed or were told about symptoms of bodily arousal (e.g., tension). Adding a pain warning to sensation information blocked distress reduction, presumably by eliciting an emotional interpretation of the stimulus. In Exp II, Ss attending only to hand sensations reported less distress than Ss attending to their bodies. This decrease in the power of the stimulus to provoke emotion is presumably mediated by a schema of hand sensations formed by attention. In Exp III, Ss attending to hand sensations early in the immersion and distracting themselves later reported the same low levels of distress as did Ss who attended to hand sensations throughout. Ss distracted throughout and Ss attending to hand sensations later showed no distress reduction. Therefore, stimulus schematization must precede distress reduction. (64 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitions of test-anxious children.

Compared the cognitions of 294 low, moderate, and high test-anxious (the Test Anxiety Scale for Children) 5th and 6th graders in an analog test situation. High test-anxious Ss reported significantly more task-debilitating cognitions than either moderate- or low-anxious Ss, including negative evaluations and off-task thoughts. High test-anxious Ss also reported fewer positive evaluations than low test-anxious Ss, whereas moderately anxious Ss did not differ significantly from either extreme group. It was unexpected that the moderate- and high-anxious groups reported significantly more on-task thoughts than the low-anxious group and did not significantly differ from each other. Both test anxiety and cognitions showed significant although modest relations with actual task performance after the effects of ability were partialled out. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subject, experimenter, and situational variables in research on anxiety.

3 organismic variables, test anxiety of Ss and of Es, and sex of S were manipulated in a verbal-learning situation. 2 siuational variables, preliminary differential-motivating instructions, and success-failure reports were also studied. High test anxious Ss performed at lower level than did low test anxious Ss, and females were superior to males. Female Ss performed best when run by low test anxious Es. Many significant interactions involving both organismic and situational variables were obtained. The results strongly indicate the need for investigations which simultaneously manipulate these variables in psychological experiments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Worry, emotionality, and task-generated interference in test anxiety: An empirical test of attentional theory.

Investigated sources of interference in highly test anxious Ss performing under evaluative stress. 185 college students were administered the Test Anxiety Scale. Those from the upper (34 Ss) and lower (34 Ss) 30% of the distribution solved difficult anagrams under 2 evaluative conditions: high stress (evaluative) and low stress (nonevaluative). Major findings are that the high-anxiety/high-stress group (a) reported more anxiety during testing; (b) rated themselves, their abilities, and the task more negatively; (c) solved fewer anagrams; (d) estimated spending less time on task; (e) experienced more interference from anxiety; and (f) reported greater distraction of attention to heightened autonomic arousal (emotionality), worrisome thoughts (worry), and task-produced competing responses (task-generated interference) than did either the high-anxiety/low-stress or low-anxiety/high-stress group. Findings are interpreted in terms of attentional theories of anxiety. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitions, test anxiety, and test performance: A closer look.

Used a thought-listing procedure to investigate the cognitions of 207 undergraduates who varied in test anxiety (high, moderate, low), as measured by the Test Anxiety Scale, and past achievement levels (high, low). Ss were assessed at different points (beginning, middle, end) during a final exam. The dependent variables included 7 categories of thoughts, semantic differential scales to assess the meaning of tests, and exam grade. Results generally replicate previous research findings with the exception that thought-list generated cognitions did not vary as a function of test anxiety level per se. It is concluded that (1) there is no significant relationship between test anxiety and performance on an in-course exam, (2) there is no significant relationship between frequency of cognitions and exam performance, and (3) different cognitive assessment methods may yield different pictures of cognitive phenomena. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of relaxation as self-control and systematic desensitization in the treatment of test anxiety.

Relaxation as self-control and desensitization were compared to a waiting-list control in the reduction of test and other anxieties in 43 undergraduates. Neither active treatment differed significantly from the other, but they did differ significantly from the control treatment on several variables. Ss in both treatments reported less debilitating test anxiety, whereas desensitization Ss showed greater facilitating test anxiety. Under stressful conditions, treated Ss were less worried and anxious, found the situation less aversive, and perceived themselves and their abilities more favorably than controls. Significant reductions in nontargeted anxieties suggested transfer of anxiety-management skills to areas other than test anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interactive effects of test anxiety, test difficulty, and feedback.

Examined interactive effects of item difficulty, test anxiety, and failure feedback in a study of 67 undergraduates (mean age 20.1 yrs) using multiple-choice verbal aptitude items. Ss' levels of test anxiety were measured on the Achievement Anxiety Test and the Test Anxiety Scale. Ss were then randomly assigned to receive either a hard or an easy test either with or without immediate feedback. Results indicate that ability estimates can be affected in complex ways by the examinee's anxiety level. The least anxious Ss in the sample did best on a very hard test, and moderately anxious Ss did best on an easy test, whereas the most anxious Ss did poorly on both tests. In addition, it was found that immediate feedback improved performance, especially for Ss given an easy test. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance, cognition, and physiological responding in test anxiety.

Autonomic (skin conductance and resistance, heart rate, and heart rate variability), self-report (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and causal attributions of task performance), and performance (modified Stroop Color–Word Test and 8 difficult anagrams) measures of anxiety were collected from 36 test-anxious and 36 non-test-anxious (Test Anxiety Scale) female undergraduates in an analog testing situation under 3 experimental conditions. High-test-anxious (HTA) Ss performed more poorly and reported higher levels of anxious arousal and worry in the analog testing situation than low-test-anxious (LTA) Ss. Also, self-evaluations of test performance made by HTA Ss differed from those made by LTA Ss in being more negative and unrelated to actual test performance. However, HTA and LTA Ss showed virtually identical changes in electrodermal activity and heart rate in response to the stress of the testing situation. Only heart rate variability, which appeared to reflect differences in the cognitive and attentional responses of the test anxiety groups, successfully differentiated HTA and LTA Ss. Results support cognitive formulations of test anxiety and indicate that deficits in information processing associated with test anxiety do not result from maladaptive levels of autonomic arousal. (56 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aerobic fitness, psychological characteristics, and cardiovascular reactivity to stress.

Examined relations among aerobic fitness (AF), psychological characteristics, and cardiovascular reactivity, using 62 men (mean age 42 yrs) divided into highly fit and less fit groups based on a treadmill exercise test. Several psychological and physiological variables were measured, and Ss' cardiovascular reactivity was assessed during a mental arithmetic task and a video game task. Highly fit Ss showed a significantly smaller increase in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate (HR) and reported themselves to be less anxious and less angry than did less fit Ss. Controlling for Ss' scores on a scale assessing angry temperament reduced the relationship between AF and DBP reactivity to nonsignificant levels. Degree of dispositional anger, which covaries with increased fitness, may contribute to the relationship between AF and DBP, but not HR, reactivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of knowledge of ability test results on academic performance and test anxiety.

Administered the School and College Ability Test to 222 freshmen during the 2nd wk. of the spring semester. Ss were then assigned to groups receiving detailed, limited, or no knowledge of their test performance. Ss completed the Test Anxiety Scale during the final examination period and GPAs were collected at the end of the semester. It was hypothesized that Ss with detailed knowledge would obtain higher GPAs and have a lower level of test anxiety. No significant differences in GPAs were found among the groups. Test anxiety was higher for the detailed knowledge group (p     

Misattribution and speech anxiety.

30 high-speech-anxious and 30 low-speech-anxious Ss participated in an experiment to test the hypothesis that misattribution would reduce the anxiety of speech-anxious Ss. The present study crosscut misattribution vs no misattribution (control) and high vs low speech anxiety and assessed the impact on Ss' nervous behavior and subsequent speech making. The misattribution concerning bodily preparation for Ss' speech-making events was delivered verbally to 15 speech-anxious and 15 nonanxious Ss prior to their speeches. Results show that misattribution did not significantly affect the behavior of Ss making speeches. Implications for misattribution when personality traits are involved are discussed. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol's effects on physiological arousal and self-reported affect and sensations.

60 male normal drinkers (undergraduates) were instructed that they would receive an alcoholic, nonalcoholic, or an unidentified beverage that would be alcoholic or nonalcoholic. Half the Ss in each instruction group consumed an alcoholic beverage; the other half consumed a non-alcoholic beverage. Self-reports of affect (Mood Adjective Check List, Multiple Affect Adjective Check List) and bodily sensations and measures of pulse rate and skin conductance were obtained at baseline and during the ascending and descending phases of the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) function. Analysis of covariance showed that Ss who consumed alcohol reported higher levels of positive affects and sensations and lower levels of depression than Ss who did not consume alcohol. The instructional manipulation had a limited effect. Self-reports of affect and sensations were most affected by type of beverage consumed; sensations were also rated higher during the ascending than during the descending phase of the BAC. Physiological measures were influenced by instructions and beverage. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of concreteness-abstractness and anxiety on intellectual and motor performance.

Administered O. J. Harvey's "This I Believe" Test to undergraduates. 55 Ss were selected with concrete belief systems and 29 with abstract systems. Ss then played the role of arguing against their own stand on an ego-involving issue which was scored for 5 attributes: number to topics discussed, number of approaches utilized in the arguments, openness to negative evaluation, ethnocentrism, and absolutism. Ss also completed the WAIS Digit-Symbol Substitution test, a vocabulary test, an arithmetic test, the A-State scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. On the basis of the anxiety measure, Ss were divided into "high" and "low" anxiety groups, and a 2-way analysis of variance (Concreteness-Abstractness * Anxiety) was run for each of the 8 dependent variables. Anxiety exercised a significant main effect on none of the 8 dependent variables, while concreteness-abstractness significantly affected 5. The interaction of these 2 variables, while in the anticipated direction in all instances, significantly affected performance only on the vocabulary measure. (29 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Test anxiety, stress, and intelligence-test performance.

Administered the Test Anxiety Scale for Children and the CMA scale to 332 6th graders. Later Ss were given an intelligence test under a number of experimental conditions designed to induce varying amounts of stress. Results were analyzed by means of 2 (anxiety) * 5 (experimental conditions) * 2 (sex) analyses of covariance, Ss having been classified as high or low anxious on the basis of their anxiety-scale scores. These analyses revealed that none of the effects of the main independent variables or of their interactions were significant. Results do not support either of the hypotheses: that high-anxious Ss will be more adversely affected by stress; and that test anxiety is more directly related to test performance than is general anxiety. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The discrepant repressor: Differentiation between low anxiety, high anxiety, and repression of anxiety by autonomic–facial–verbal patterns of behavior.

Examined the notion that personality questionnaires can be used to predict different styles of coping with anxiety, as expressed by individual differences in patterns of autonomic, verbal, and nonverbal reactions. In line with earlier modifications of the repression–sensitization concept, the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (MAS) and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (SDS) were used to select 4 groups of 12 Ss each from a pool of 206 male university students in Germany: low-anxious Ss, repressors, high-anxious Ss, and defensive high-anxious Ss. Measures of autonomic arousal, facial activity, and self-reported affect were obtained during a potentially anxiety-arousing free-association task and during a number of control conditions, including an amusing film. Significant differences in baseline-corrected heart rate and self-reported anxiety as well as rated facial anxiety all indicated that repressors exhibited a discrepancy between low self-reported anxiety and high heart rate and facial anxiety; low anxious Ss reported an intermediate level of anxiety, although they showed low heart rate and facial anxiety; high-anxious Ss had consistently high values on all 3 variables; and the defensive high-anxious Ss showed an intermediate level of anxious responding. These group differences were specific to the task of freely associating to phrases of mixed (sexual, aggressive, neutral) content and to self-reported anxiety, indicating that they reflect individual differences in coping with anxiety. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anxiety sensitivity, acute nicotine withdrawal symptoms, and anxious and fearful responding to bodily sensations: A laboratory test.

The present investigation examined the moderating role of anxiety sensitivity (AS) in regard to the relation between acute nicotine withdrawal and anxious and fearful responding to a 10% carbon dioxide-enriched air (CO2) procedure. Ninety daily smokers (35 women; Mage = 28.87, SD = 12.12) were assigned randomly to one of two groups (12-hr nicotine deprivation or smoking “as usual”) and subsequently underwent a 10% CO2 provocation challenge. Partially consistent with prediction, results indicated that the AS by nicotine withdrawal (group status) interaction was significantly predictive of peri-challenge anxiety ratings (anxiety during the challenge), but not skin conductance reactivity. Findings are discussed in the context of the role of AS in amplifying smoking-based fear responses to bodily sensations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of homogeneous and heterogeneous anxiety management training.

Compared the effectiveness of treating 31 test anxious (Achievement Anxiety Scale) and 25 speech anxious (Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker) undergraduates in anxiety management training (AMT) groups composed of only test-anxious or speech-anxious Ss (homogeneous AMT) or a mixture of both (heterogeneous AMT). For test-anxious Ss, both forms of AMT significantly reduced state and trait test anxiety compared with controls, these gains were maintained, and Ss had higher psychology grades. Follow-up assessment evidenced nontargeted anxiety reduction for both forms of AMT, but showed that homogeneous AMT Ss reported less anxiety on the Fear Inventory than either heterogeneous AMT or control Ss. For speech-anxious Ss, heterogeneous AMT lowered speech anxiety significantly more and was the only condition to show any evidence of nontargeted anxiety reduction for Ss. Results are discussed in terms of immediate, efficient delivery of anxiety reduction services to a wide range of clients. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Situational determinants of social anxiety in clinic and nonclinic samples: Physiological and cognitive correlates.

Compared the level of physiological reactivity and frequency of negative cognitions in 26 nonclinic, socially anxious (SA) Ss (mean age 20.8 yrs), 17 clinic SA patients (mean age 40.8 yrs), and 26 nonsocially anxious (NSA) Ss (mean age 22.0 yrs) to investigate the consistency of cognitive and physiological reactivity in the assessment of social anxiety. A social interaction self-statement test served as the cognitive measure. Physiological reactivity was monitored continuously throughout Ss' completion of the following behavioral tasks: an unstructured interpersonal interaction with an opposite-sex confederate, a similar interaction with a same-sex confederate, and an impromptu talk on a topic selected by the S. The clinic and nonclinic samples of SA Ss differed significantly from the NSA Ss in level of physiological reactivity and type of cognition. There were no significant differences between the 2 anxious groups. The results indicate that both thoughts and physiological reactivity were influenced by situational parameters. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)