University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, FHNW, Olten, Switzerland.
University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Br J Educ Psychol. 2023 Apr;93 Suppl 1:72-89. doi: 10.1111/bjep.12536. Epub 2022 Jul 29.
This study investigated the role of different test anxiety components (affective, cognitive, motivational and physiological) as mediators between control and performance as proposed by Pekrun's control-value theory (CVT). While all components were assessed via self-report, the physiological component was additionally assessed via electrodermal activity (EDA).
We examined the relative impact of the self-reported anxiety components and EDA in this mediating mechanism to identify the most relevant assessment(s) (i.e., self-reported anxiety components and/or EDA) for predicting test performance.
The study comprised 50 eighth graders.
Data were collected during a mathematics test comprising six task blocks. State self-reports of control and anxiety components along with test performance and other test emotions were collected block-wise (i.e., repeated assessments within students). EDA was continuously recorded.
Consistent with CVT, intra-individual mediation analysis with multiple mediators revealed that higher control predicted lower anxiety (i.e., all self-reported components). Unexpectedly, higher control was associated with increased EDA. Follow-up analyses taking other test emotions into account suggested this might reflect positive activation. Correlations between EDA and control and self-reported anxiety components differed depending on which test emotion was dominant in each situation. Regarding test performance, only the cognitive component was a significant mediator and thus seems to play a pivotal role in the relationship between control and performance.
Distinguishing between anxiety components and including unbiased physiological measures improve our understanding of the mechanisms behind the relationship between test anxiety and performance. Higher physiological arousal may be a sign of anxiety but can also be a sign of positive activation. When aiming to reduce negative effects of anxiety on performance, targeting the cognitive component seems crucial. Implications of these findings for educational and psychological practice are discussed.
本研究依据 Pekrun 的控制-价值理论（CVT），调查了不同考试焦虑成分（情感、认知、动机和生理）在控制与表现之间的中介作用，这些成分都是通过自我报告来评估的，而生理成分则通过皮肤电活动（EDA）来评估。
我们检验了自我报告的焦虑成分和 EDA 在这种中介机制中的相对影响，以确定最相关的评估方法（即自我报告的焦虑成分和/或 EDA）来预测考试表现。
该研究包括 50 名八年级学生。
数据是在一项包含六个任务块的数学测试中收集的。在每个任务块中，学生都要报告状态下的控制感和焦虑成分，以及测试表现和其他测试情绪。同时，持续记录 EDA。
与 CVT 一致，采用多个中介的个体内中介分析表明，较高的控制感预测较低的焦虑感（即所有自我报告的成分）。出乎意料的是，较高的控制感与 EDA 的增加有关。考虑到其他测试情绪的后续分析表明，这可能反映了积极的激活。EDA 与控制感和自我报告的焦虑成分之间的相关性因每种情况下哪种测试情绪占主导地位而异。关于测试表现，只有认知成分是一个显著的中介，因此在控制感和表现之间的关系中起着关键作用。
区分焦虑成分并纳入无偏见的生理测量方法可以提高我们对考试焦虑与表现之间关系背后机制的理解。较高的生理唤醒可能是焦虑的标志，但也可能是积极激活的标志。当目标是降低焦虑对表现的负面影响时，针对认知成分似乎至关重要。讨论了这些发现对教育和心理实践的影响。
