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)