Effects of Humor on Test Anxiety and Performance

1999 ◽  
Vol 84 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1203-1213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur H. Perlini ◽  
Roger G. Nenonen ◽  
David L. Lind
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Test Anxiety ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Sense Of Humor ◽  
Test Items ◽  
Test Conditions ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Moderating Role

The present study evaluated the moderating effects of humor in test items on the hypothesized relationship between test anxiety and performance. Subjects initially completed anxiety scales, as well as coping-humor and sense-of-humor scales. 34 women and 26 men received achievement tests under one of three test conditions: (1) nonhumorous, (2) low-humor (15% of test items), or (3) moderate-humor (30% of test items). These test versions were administered under both low, i.e., short quiz, and high, i.e., examination, outcome-value conditions. Humor frequency did not improve the test performance of highly test-anxious subjects under either outcome-value condition. Together with other previous disconfirmatory findings, the present results suggest that the hypothesized moderating role of item humor in the anxiety-performance relationship may be overstated. Ancillary analyses suggest that individual differences in the use of humor as a coping strategy significantly predict examination scores.

scholarly journals Revisiting the Role of Worries in Explaining the Link Between Test Anxiety and Test Performance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frieder L. Schillinger ◽  
Jochen A. Mosbacher ◽  
Clemens Brunner ◽  
Stephan E. Vogel ◽  
Roland H. Grabner
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Test Anxiety ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Inverse Relationship ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
General Intelligence ◽  
Mathematical Competencies ◽  
And Performance

AbstractThe inverse relationship between test anxiety and test performance is commonly explained by test-anxious students’ tendency to worry about a test and the consequences of failing. However, other cognitive facets of test anxiety have been identified that could account for this link, including interference by test-irrelevant thoughts and lack of confidence. In this study, we compare different facets of test anxiety in predicting test performance. Seven hundred thirty university students filled out the German Test Anxiety Inventory after completing a battery of standardized tests assessing general intelligence and mathematical competencies. Multiple regressions revealed that interference and lack of confidence but not worry or arousal explained unique variance in students’ test performance. No evidence was found for a curvilinear relationship between arousal and performance. The present results call for revisiting the role of worries in explaining the test anxiety-performance link and can help educators to identify students who are especially at risk of underperforming on tests.

scholarly journals The Role of Preperformance and In-Game Emotions in Cognitive Interference During Sport Performance: The Moderating Role of Self-Confidence and Reappraisal

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Stanger ◽  
Ryan Chettle ◽  
Jessica Whittle ◽  
Jamie Poolton
Keyword(s):  
Team Sport ◽  
Sport Performance ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Cognitive Interference ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Moderating Role

This research examined whether prevalent preperformance (Study 1) and in-game (Study 2) emotions were associated with cognitive interference (i.e., thoughts of escape, task-irrelevant thoughts, and performance worries) and whether any effects were moderated by reappraisal and self-confidence. In Study 1, team-sport players’ preperformance anxiety positively, and excitement negatively, predicted cognitive interference during a competitive match. However, no moderating effects for reappraisal or confidence were revealed. In Study 2, badminton players’ in-game anxiety, dejection, and happiness positively predicted, whereas excitement negatively predicted, cognitive interference during a competitive match. Moreover, reappraisal and confidence moderated the relationships of excitement and happiness with task-irrelevant thoughts. The findings underscore the role that preperformance and in-game emotions can play in athletes’ thought processing during sport performance, as well as highlighting the importance of considering the effects of self-confidence and reappraisal on the role of in-game emotions in cognitive interference.

Interest as the Missing Motivator in Self-Regulation

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Sansone ◽  
Dustin B. Thoman
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Goal Pursuit ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Goal Striving ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
And Performance

Abstract. Typically, models of self-regulation include motivation in terms of goals. Motivation is proposed to fluctuate according to how much individuals value goals and expect to attain them. Missing from these models is the motivation that arises from the process of goal-pursuit. We suggest that an important aspect of self-regulation is monitoring and regulating our motivation, not just our progress toward goals. Although we can regulate motivation by enhancing the value or expectancy of attaining the outcome, we suggest that regulating the interest experience can be just as, if not more, powerful. We first present our model, which integrates self-regulation of interest within the goal-striving process. We then briefly review existing evidence, distinguishing between two broad classes of potential interest-enhancing strategies: intrapersonal and interpersonal. For each class of strategies we note what is known about developmental and individual differences in whether and how these kinds of strategies are used. We also discuss implications, including the potential trade-offs between regulating interest and performance, and how recognizing the role of the interest experience may shed new light on earlier research in domains such as close relationships, psychiatric disorders, and females' choice to drop out of math and science.

scholarly journals Team emotion diversity and performance: The moderating role of social class homogeneity.

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiping Li ◽  
Anran Li ◽  
Prithviraj Chattopadhyay ◽  
Elizabeth George ◽  
Vishal Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Moderating Role

scholarly journals Team Emotion Diversity and Performance: The Moderating Role of Social Class Homogeneity

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (1) ◽  
pp. 14803
Author(s):  
Jiping Li ◽  
Prithviraj Chattopadhyay ◽  
Elizabeth George ◽  
Vishal Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Moderating Role

Model-based learning and individual differences in depression: The moderating role of stress

2018 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 19-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron S. Heller ◽  
C.E. Chiemeka Ezie ◽  
A. Ross Otto ◽  
Kiara R. Timpano
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Moderating Role

CEO outsiderness and firm performance in an emerging economy: The moderating role of managerial discretion

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 798-814
Author(s):  
Aylin Ataay
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Emerging Economy ◽  
Managerial Discretion ◽  
Ceo Succession ◽  
Direct Impact ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Succession Events ◽  
Moderating Role

AbstractInconsistent findings from prior research on the performance consequences of new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) origin led us to study the moderating effect of managerial discretion on the link between CEO outsiderness and firms’ post-succession performance. Data from 75 CEO succession events from an emerging economy show that new CEO outsiderness, without managerial discretion context influences, has no direct impact on post-succession performance. Further, our findings emphasise the moderating impacts of managerial discretion, stemming from factors in a company’s external and internal contingencies, which either strengthen or weaken the association between new CEO outsiderness and post-succession firm performance. It is found that market complexity, but not munificence, provides CEOs with more discretion in the Turkish context, thus strengthening the positive associations between CEO origin and firm performance. Firms inertia weakens both managerial discretion level and the association between CEO outsiderness and firm performance. The results show that internal corporate governance also matters. Finally, when a CEO assumes the dual role of both the chairman and the CEO, the link between CEO outsiderness and performance of the firm becomes stronger.

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