Ou Yuhong, Zhou Renlai
Department of Psychology, Nanjing University, Room 418, Heren Hall, 163 Xianlin Avenue, Nanjing, 210023, People's Republic of China.
Department of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, 210008, China.
Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2025 Jul 22. doi: 10.3758/s13415-025-01329-6.
Recent studies have found cognitive control deficits in high test anxiety (HTA) individuals, yet the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Guided by the Expected Value of Control (EVC) model, this study used a mixed factorial design to examine how task efficacy influences cognitive control in individuals with HTA. We utilized event-related potentials (ERPs) in a cued Flanker task, manipulating the evaluative threat context and task difficulty. Behavioral results showed that in threat contexts, HTA individuals exhibited longer reaction times in the Flanker task and lower accuracy in high-conflict conditions compared to low test anxiety (LTA) individuals. The results of ERP showed that during cue processing, HTA individuals exhibited exaggerated contingent negative variation (CNV) amplitudes across all difficulty cues in nonthreat contexts, suggesting excessive preparatory activity and resource allocation. However, in threat contexts, CNV amplitudes were significantly reduced, reflecting inadequate cognitive resource mobilization. During cognitive control processing, HTA individuals exhibited more negative N2 amplitudes in high-conflict conditions in nonthreat contexts, suggesting enhanced cognitive control. In contrast, in threat contexts, their N2 amplitudes were significantly more positive than those of LTA individuals, indicating impaired cognitive control. The study found that HTA individuals overinvested cognitive resources in nonthreat contexts but reduced investment in threat contexts, possibly due to lower perceptions of efficacy, which may have impaired cognitive control. This research extended the application of the EVC model, provided new theoretical insights into the mechanisms of cognitive control deficits in test anxiety, and informed targeted interventions.
最近的研究发现，高考试焦虑（HTA）个体存在认知控制缺陷，但其潜在机制仍未完全明确。本研究以控制的预期价值（EVC）模型为指导，采用混合因子设计，考察任务效能如何影响HTA个体的认知控制。我们在一个线索化的侧翼任务中利用事件相关电位（ERP），操纵评价性威胁情境和任务难度。行为结果表明，在威胁情境下，与低考试焦虑（LTA）个体相比，HTA个体在侧翼任务中的反应时间更长，在高冲突条件下的准确性更低。ERP结果显示，在线索处理过程中，HTA个体在非威胁情境下对所有难度线索都表现出夸大的关联性负变（CNV）波幅，表明存在过度的准备活动和资源分配。然而，在威胁情境下，CNV波幅显著降低，反映出认知资源动员不足。在认知控制处理过程中，HTA个体在非威胁情境下的高冲突条件下表现出更多的负性N2波幅，表明认知控制增强。相反，在威胁情境下，他们的N2波幅比LTA个体显著更正，表明认知控制受损。研究发现，HTA个体在非威胁情境下过度投入认知资源，但在威胁情境下减少投入，这可能是由于对效能的感知较低，进而可能损害了认知控制。本研究扩展了EVC模型的应用，为考试焦虑中认知控制缺陷的机制提供了新的理论见解，并为针对性干预提供了依据。
