scholarly journals The Moderator Effect of Test Anxiety in the Relationship between Test Expectancy and the Retention of Prose

2003 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 961-971
Author(s):  
Alexander E. Minnaert
Keyword(s):  
Test Anxiety ◽  
Retention Test ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
General Intelligence ◽  
Memory Retention ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Moderator Effect ◽  
Test Expectancy ◽  
Anxious Group ◽  
High Test

The effect of test expectancy and test anxiety on the retention of prose is not yet profoundly examined in an ecologically valid learning context. The influence of test expectancy, test anxiety, and differences in intelligence on the retention of prose was addressed in the hypothesis that test anxiety would act as a moderator between test expectancy and memory retention of prose. Also examined was whether this relation would still be valid if differences in general intelligence were controlled. University freshmen ( N = 292) participated. Analysis indicated that test anxiety acted as a moderator between test expectancy and prose memory performance, even after controlling for differences in general intelligence. The low and high test-anxious group expecting a retention test seemed to profit from positive arousal elicited by the expectedness of a retention test. The high test-anxious group not expecting a retention test performed in a rather detrimental way on a retention test given negative arousal elicited by the unexpectedness of a retention test. Implications for further research are elaborated and discussed.

scholarly journals Investigating the Effects of Seizures on Procedural Memory Performance in Patients with Epilepsy

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 261
Author(s):  
Frank J. van Schalkwijk ◽  
Walter R. Gruber ◽  
Laurie A. Miller ◽  
Eugen Trinka ◽  
Yvonne Höller
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Memory Retention ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Performance Improvements ◽  
Patients With Epilepsy

Memory complaints are frequently reported by patients with epilepsy and are associated with seizure occurrence. Yet, the direct effects of seizures on memory retention are difficult to assess given their unpredictability. Furthermore, previous investigations have predominantly assessed declarative memory. This study evaluated within-subject effects of seizure occurrence on retention and consolidation of a procedural motor sequence learning task in patients with epilepsy undergoing continuous monitoring for five consecutive days. Of the total sample of patients considered for analyses (N = 53, Mage = 32.92 ± 13.80 y, range = 18–66 y; 43% male), 15 patients experienced seizures and were used for within-patient analyses. Within-patient contrasts showed general improvements over seizure-free (day + night) and seizure-affected retention periods. Yet, exploratory within-subject contrasts for patients diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy (n = 10) showed that only seizure-free retention periods resulted in significant improvements, as no performance changes were observed following seizure-affected retention. These results indicate general performance improvements and offline consolidation of procedural memory during the day and night. Furthermore, these results suggest the relevance of healthy temporal lobe functioning for successful consolidation of procedural information, as well as the importance of seizure control for effective retention and consolidation of procedural memory.

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.

Test anxiety, evaluative stress, and susceptibility to distraction from threat

2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edmund Keogh ◽  
Christopher C. French
Keyword(s):  
Test Anxiety ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Attentional Resources ◽  
Specific Trait ◽  
Selective Search ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
High Test ◽  
Specific Susceptibility

Examinations are perhaps one of the main methods of assessment in education. Unfortunately, there are some individuals who are so fearful of such events that performance is impaired. Test anxiety is believed to be the trait that predisposes individuals to react negatively to examinations and tests. One way in which it is believed that test anxiety affects performance is by increasing susceptibility to distraction from task‐irrelevant material. However, few studies have directly investigated this impairment. An experiment was therefore conducted to investigate susceptibility to distraction in high and low test‐anxious students. The task used was based on one developed by Mathews, May, Mogg and Eysenck (1990), which distinguishes between focused attention and selective search. In order to determine whether a specific susceptibility to distraction exists, the distractors were varied in terms of valence and relevance to examinations. Since test anxiety is a situation‐specific trait, an evaluation‐related stressor was used to trigger test‐anxious reactions. A specific susceptibility to distraction from threat was found amongst high test‐anxious participants who received the evaluation‐related stressor. However, this effect was only found when participants were using focused attention. This suggests that the disturbed performance often found to be associated with test anxiety might be due to an inability to ignore threatening material when attempting to focus attentional resources. These results are discussed in light of current theories of test anxiety and implications for educational practice. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Delayed Verbal Recall in Crack/Cocaine Dependents

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 273-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thiago Wendt Viola ◽  
Saulo Gantes Tractenberg ◽  
Bruno Kluwe-Schiavon ◽  
Mateus Luz Levandowski ◽  
Breno Sanvicente-Vieira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Neurotrophic Factor ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Crack Cocaine ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor ◽  
Memory Retention ◽  
Memory Impairments ◽  
Verbal Recall ◽  
Healthy Women

Background/Aims: Considering the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in memory processes and its peripheral response during the detoxification of cocaine, the aim of this study was to investigate whether plasma BDNF levels could be related to memory performance in women with crack/cocaine dependence. Methods: Twenty-five abstinent female crack/cocaine users (CCD) and 25 unmedicated healthy women (HW), carefully matched for age and years of formal education, were assessed regarding memory performance. Logical Memory was used to assess the immediate verbal recall (IVR), delayed verbal recall (DVR) and memory retention. Plasma BDNF levels were measured by Elisa immunoassay. Beck Depression Inventory was used to assess the severity of depressive symptoms, and the Cocaine Selective Severity Assessment the severity of cocaine abstinence symptoms. Results: The CCD group had lower DVR scores and higher plasma BDNF levels when compared to HW group. In addition, a linear regression model showed that BDNF levels predicted DVR scores within CCD group independently of depressive symptoms (R = 0.51; R2 = 0.26; t(22) = 4.025, p = 0.03). Conclusion: Despite higher plasma BDNF levels, crack users exhibited memory impairments when compared to healthy women. Specifically, peripheral BDNF levels predicted better cognitive performance only within individuals who already had cognitive impairment.

Brief Research Report - Text Anxiety in Adolescents

1995 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-32
Author(s):  
Neville J. King ◽  
Leesa Tinney ◽  
Angelique Mietz
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Test Anxiety ◽  
Clinical Interview ◽  
Research Report ◽  
Interview Schedule ◽  
Large Sample ◽  
School Settings ◽  
Text Anxiety ◽  
Report Text ◽  
High Test

ABSTRACTA large sample of adolescents were screened for test anxiety using the Test Anxiety Scale for Children (TASC). Subjects with low and high scores on the TASC were then compared in a structured clinical interview (Interview Schedule for Children, ISC). The high test anxious adolescents showed a significantly greater preponderance of disorders, particularly anxiety disorders. We argue that these findings have implications for counsellors and psychologists working in school settings.

scholarly journals High‐throughput olfactory conditioning and memory retention test show variation in Nasonia parasitic wasps

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 879-887 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. M. Hoedjes ◽  
J. L. M. Steidle ◽  
J. H. Werren ◽  
L. E. M. Vet ◽  
H. M. Smid
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput ◽  
Retention Test ◽  
Memory Retention ◽  
Parasitic Wasps ◽  
Olfactory Conditioning

An Analytical Investigation of Instructions Designed to Elicit Test Anxiety

1971 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 283-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Kilby Long ◽  
David W. Bessemer
Keyword(s):  
Test Anxiety ◽  
Peer Group ◽  
Individual Performance ◽  
English Word ◽  
Analytical Investigation ◽  
Performance Decrement ◽  
Reliable Performance ◽  
High Test ◽  
Three Components

Components of motivating instructions typically used to elicit performance decrements in high test-anxious Ss were investigated to determine whether: (a) the mention of a test, (b) identifying the test as an intelligence measure, or (c) suggesting evaluation in relation to a peer-group is primarily responsible for the observed decrement. High and low test-anxious Ss were given 12 paired-associated lists of common English word pairs, and experimental instructions between the 8th and 9th lists. Analyses of post-instruction changes in PA anticipation responses showed significant differences only between the instruction containing all three components and the control condition. The magnitude of the reliable performance decrement produced by the instructions was inversely related to Ss' level of performance before the instructions were given, and no decrement occurred for most Ss at the highest levels of pre-instructional proficiency. Increased emphasis might well be given to the analysis of effects of test anxiety on changes in individual performance.

Test Anxiety in Girls and Boys: A Clinical—Developmental Analysis

1996 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret K. Warren ◽  
Thomas H. Ollendick ◽  
Neville J. King
Keyword(s):  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Test Anxiety ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Attitude Inventory ◽  
Ability Tests ◽  
Academic Grades ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Anxiety Depression ◽  
High Test

A large sample of children and adolescents were screened for test anxiety using the Test Attitude Inventory (Spielberger, 1980). Subjects with low and high test anxiety were then compared on self-report measures of trait anxiety, depression, and fear and then asked to report their thoughts and level of distress following an imagined test. Academic grades and performance on standardised achievement and ability tests were also obtained. High test-anxious children and adolescents reported higher levels of trait anxiety, depression, and fear as well as greater distress and cognitive interference during the imagined test. They also obtained lower grades and performed more poorly on the standardised measures. Age effects moderated these findings. Discussion focuses on the clinical and developmental implications of the findings.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document