Effects of trait test anxiety and state anxiety on children's working memory task performance

Role of executive functions in the relations of state- and trait-math anxiety with math performance

The detrimental effect of math anxiety on math performance is thought to be mediated by executive functions. Previous studies have primarily focused on trait-math anxiety rather than state-math anxiety and have typically examined a single executive function rather than comprehensively evaluating all of them. Here, we used a structural equation modeling approach to concurrently determine the potential mediating roles of different executive functions (i.e., inhibition, switching, and updating) in the relationships between both state- and trait-math anxiety and math performance. A battery of computer-based tasks and questionnaires were administered to 205 university students. Two relevant results emerged. First, confirmatory factor analysis suggests that math anxiety encompassed both trait and state dimensions and, although they share substantial variance, trait-math anxiety predicted math performance over and above state-math anxiety. Second, working memory updating was the only executive function that mediated the relationship between math anxiety and math performance; neither inhibition nor switching played mediating roles. This calls into question whether some general proposals about the relationship between anxiety and executive functions can be extended specifically to math anxiety. We also raise the possibility that working memory updating or general cognitive difficulties might precede individual differences in math anxiety.

Multidimensional components of (state) mathematics anxiety: Behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and psychophysiological consequences

The present study aimed to analyze the different components of state mathematics anxiety that students experienced while solving calculation problems by manipulating their stress levels. A computerized mathematical task was administered to 165 fifth-graders randomly assigned to three different groups: positive, negative, and control conditions, in which positive, negative, or no feedback during the task was given, respectively. Behavioral (task performance), emotional (negative feelings), cognitive (worrisome thoughts and perceived competence), and psychophysiological responses (skin conductance and vagal withdrawal) were analyzed. Behavioral responses did not differ in the positive and negative conditions, while the latter was associated with children's reportedly negative emotional states, worries, and perceived lack of competence. The stress induced in the negative condition led to an increase in skin conductance and cardiac vagal withdrawal in children. Our data suggest the importance of considering students' interpretation of mathematics-related experiences, which might affect their emotional, cognitive, and psychophysiological responses.

The effect of anxiety on working memory and language abilities in elementary schoolchildren with and without Additional Health and Developmental Needs

Although excessive childhood anxiety is recognised as a significant public health, education and socioeconomic concern, the specific effects of such anxiety on language development and working memory, particularly visual working memory, are relatively unknown. Thus, this study aimed to examine parent-reported trait anxiety, parent-reported functional language (daily communication skills) and clinical measures of non-verbal intelligence, receptive and expressive vocabulary, phonological awareness, and visual and auditory-verbal short-term and working memory in elementary schoolchildren. The final sample included 41 children categorised as Additional Health and Developmental Needs (AHDN) due to medical, neurodevelopmental or educational concerns and 41 age- and IQ-matched neurotypical (NT) children, aged 5- to 9-years. Results showed that 26% of all children in our entire sample (AHDN and NT) experienced moderate, sub-clinical anxiety (as reported by parents), and that AHDN children were 10.5 times more likely to experience high anxiety than the NT group (odds ratio). Parents of AHDN children reported lower functional language in their children than parents of NT children. Cognitive testing indicated that the AHDN group also had poorer visual and auditory-verbal working memory than the NT group. Further, High Anxiety children (drawn from both AHDN and NT groups) showed poorer parent-reported functional language skills, and lower visual and auditory-verbal working memory capacities. Our findings are amongst the first to confirm that the presence of high parent-rated trait anxiety is associated with reduced visual working memory in children, which is consistent with biological and theoretical expectations of the impact of anxiety on visually driven, goal-directed attention and working memory. Our results regarding the high prevalence of sub-clinical anxiety in both ADHD and neurotypical children highlight the need for early assessment of anxiety in all schoolchildren, especially those classified as AHDN.

Test Anxiety Does Not Predict Exam Performance When Knowledge Is Controlled For: Strong Evidence Against the Interference Hypothesis of Test Anxiety

Do test-anxious students perform worse in exam situations than their knowledge would otherwise allow? We analyzed data from 309 medical students who prepared for a high-stakes exam using a digital learning platform. Using log files from the learning platform, we assessed students' level of knowledge throughout the exam-preparation phase and their average performance in mock exams that were completed shortly before the final exam. The results showed that test anxiety did not predict exam performance over and above students' knowledge level as assessed in the mock exams or during the exam-preparation phase. Leveraging additional ambulatory assessment data from the exam-preparation phase, we found that high trait test anxiety predicted smaller gains in knowledge over the exam-preparation phase. Taken together, these findings are incompatible with the hypothesis that test anxiety interferes with the retrieval of previously learned knowledge during the exam.

The Sequential Composition of Collaborative Groups’ Emotion Regulation in Negative Socio-emotional Interactions

Research indicates that to adjust a group’s emotional atmosphere for successful collaborative learning, group members need to engage in group-level emotion regulation. However, less is known about the whys and ways regulation is activated at a group level. This research explores what triggers 12-year-old primary school students’ (N = 37) negative socio-emotional interactions during a collaborative science task and whether the nature of the trigger makes a difference to group-level emotion regulation strategies and their sequential composition in these interactions. Groups’ collaborative working was videotaped, and triggers and strategies were analysed. The results reveal that the triggers of negative interactions are linked to the groups’ activated regulation strategies. Motivation control strategies were more represented in situations where negative interactions were triggered by task-related issues, whereas socially related triggers were associated with behavioural regulation strategies. Furthermore, the results illustrate that strategies are concatenated to a series of strategic actions, which mostly begin with sharing an awareness of the trigger. The results indicate a need to focus on the series of strategic actions activated in group interactions. This will help reveal how socially shared regulatory processes build a group’s emotional atmosphere.

The interplay between math anxiety and working memory on math performance: a longitudinal study

Mathematical skills are essential to mastering everyday activities, making professional choices, and exercising citizenship in a numerate society. There is extensive evidence of the relationship between math anxiety (MA) and working memory (WM) influencing math attainment. Studies have mainly considered adult samples, however, leaving primary school children almost unexplored. This study is a first attempt to examine how the complex interplay between MA and WM affects math achievement from a developmental perspective. A total of 148 third graders were assessed with WM, general anxiety (GA), MA, and math tasks. Anxiety and WM were assessed at the beginning of the school year when children started attending grade 3, while math achievement was tested twice at the start of grades 3 and 4. The findings seem to confirm that GA has both a direct and an indirect effect (mediated by WM) on math performance in third and fourth graders. MA has a direct effect on math performance in grade 4, but only an indirect effect in grade 3, suggesting MA has a developmental trajectory, becoming stronger over time. The implications in the educational setting are discussed, pointing to the importance of a combined intervention on MA and WM.

The effectiveness of affective compared to neutral working memory training in university students with test anxiety

BACKGROUND

Test anxiety (TA), defined as the emotional, physiological, and behavioural responses surrounding situations involving formal evaluation of performance, is a relatively common occurrence, and, when present, can be a disruptive factor in students' academic careers. Research indicates that working memory, in particular, affective working memory, is impaired in individuals with TA. The current study therefore explored whether training the application of working memory in affective contexts could reduce TA and associated cognitive and affective impairments.

METHOD

60 Iranian university students (50% female; 19-22 years) with TA symptoms were randomized to receive 20 sessions of affective working memory training (aWMT), neutral working memory training (nWMT) or to a no-training control group. Prior and immediately after training, all participants completed measures of TA, working memory, cognitive control, and emotion regulation.

RESULTS

Compared to the control group, both the aWMT and the nWMT groups demonstrated improved cognitive and affective functioning from pre-to post-training. However, the reduction in TA symptoms and improvement in emotion regulation was greater in the aWMT group compared to the nWMT group.

CONCLUSION

aWMT may be an effective means of not only reducing TA, but also enhancing cognitive and affective functioning. These preliminary findings are promising given the potential for free and easy dissemination of aWMT in schools and online settings, including low- and middle-income countries.

Math Performance and Academic Anxiety Forms, from Sociodemographic to Cognitive Aspects: a Meta-analysis on 906,311 Participants

The relationship between anxiety and mathematics has often been investigated in the literature. Different forms of anxiety have been evaluated, with math anxiety (MA) and test anxiety (TA) consistently being associated with various aspects of mathematics. In this meta-analysis, we have evaluated the impact of these forms of anxiety, distinguishing between different types of mathematical tasks. In investigating this relationship, we have also included potential moderators, such as age, gender, working memory, type of task, and type of material. One hundred seventy-seven studies met the inclusion criteria, providing an overall sample of 906,311 participants. Results showed that both MA and TA had a significant impact on mathematics. Sociodemographic factors had modest moderating effects. Working memory (WM) also mediated the relationship between MA and TA with mathematics; however, this indirect effect was weak. Theoretical and educational implications, as well as future directions for research in this field, are discussed.

Anxiety and verbal learning in typically developing primary school children: Less efficient but equally effective

BACKGROUND

Despite evidence that high levels of anxiety can impair Working Memory (WM) functioning, little is known about how anxiety is associated with classroom learning activities, which make high demands on verbal WM.

AIMS

To investigate the association between anxiety and learning on a task which makes high demands on verbal WM.

SAMPLE

Participants were 119 typically developing, Australian elementary school children (M age = 9.25 years; SD = 7.6 months).

METHOD

In individual testing sessions, measures of trait anxiety (Spence Childhood Anxiety Scales) and state anxiety (Visual Analogue scale) were made. The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, which makes similar demands on WM to many classroom activities, was administered.

RESULTS

Neither trait nor state anxiety alone was associated with mean recall across trials, however their interaction showed a significant effect. In children high on both measures of anxiety, learning followed a different trajectory. They learned more slowly on the first three trials than less anxious peers, then caught up on the remaining trials. While their mean recall scores across trials were significantly lower than those of less anxious peers, they retained as many words on the delayed learning trial.

CONCLUSION

In a group of typically developing children, learning on the early, more demanding learning trials of a verbal learning task was vulnerable to heightened anxiety. However, the extra opportunities to learn on later trials enabled more anxious children to learn as much as their less anxious peers. While they learnt less efficiently, they learnt equally effectively.

Resilience effects on student performance and well-being: the role of self-efficacy, self-set goals, and anxiety

Universities prepare students to become contributing members to the workplace and to society. However, with rising tuition costs and other increasing time and resource demands, students face substantial adversity. Students' ability to cope with that adversity influences successful completion of academic coursework and retention in degree programs, ultimately providing a source of potential effective future employees. Previous research has demonstrated numerous direct relationships between dispositional resilience and pivotal outcomes, such as performance, life satisfaction, and subjective well-being. However, research has failed to explore underlying mechanisms through which resilience may affect these outcomes, especially in academic contexts. The purpose of the current study was to use self-regulation theory as a framework for examining the effects of students' resilience on outcomes. Using a sample of undergraduate students from a Midwestern university in the U.S. (N = 141), we proposed and tested a path model addressing self-efficacy, self-set goals, and state anxiety as mechanisms through which resilience influences performance and subjective well-being. Our results provided evidence supporting a structural model involving resilience, such that student resilience (a) has an indirect effect on performance through self-efficacy and self-set goals, (b) has an indirect effect on state anxiety through self-efficacy, and (c) accounts for unique variance in subjective well-being after controlling for state anxiety. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

State anxiety reduces working memory capacity but does not impact filtering cost for neutral distracters

Current theories propose that anxiety adversely impacts working memory (WM) by restricting WM capacity and interfering with efficient filtering of task-irrelevant information. The current study investigated the effect of shock-induced state anxiety on WM capacity and the ability to filter task-irrelevant neutral stimuli. We measured the contralateral delay activity (CDA), an event-related potential that indexes the number of items maintained in WM, while participants completed a lateralized change detection task. The task included low and high WM loads, as well as a low load plus distracter condition. This design was used to assess WM capacity for low and high loads and investigate an individual's ability to filter neutral task-irrelevant stimuli. Participants completed the task under two conditions, threat of shock and safe. We observed a reduced CDA in the threat compared to the safe condition that was specific for high memory load. However, we did not find any differences in CDA filtering cost between threat and safe conditions. In addition, we did not find any differences in behavioral performance between the threat and safe conditions. These findings suggest that being in an anxious state reduces the neural representation for large amounts of information in WM, but have little effect on the filtering of neutral distracters.

The Impact of Situational Test Anxiety on Retest Effects in Cognitive Ability Testing: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

When a cognitive ability is assessed repeatedly, test scores and ability estimates are often observed to increase across test sessions. This phenomenon is known as the retest (or practice) effect. One explanation for retest effects is that situational test anxiety interferes with a testee's performance during earlier test sessions, thereby creating systematic measurement bias on the test items (interference hypothesis). Yet, the influence of anxiety diminishes with test repetitions. This explanation is controversial, since the presence of measurement bias during earlier measurement occasions cannot always be confirmed. It is argued that people from the lower end of the ability spectrum become aware of their deficits in test situations and therefore report higher anxiety (deficit hypothesis). In 2014, a structural equation model was proposed that specifically allows the comparison of these two hypotheses with regard to explanatory power for the negative anxiety-ability correlation found in cross-sectional assessments. We extended this model for usage in longitudinal studies to investigate the impact of test anxiety on test performance and on retest effects. A latent neighbor-change growth curve was implemented into the model that enables an estimation of retest effects between all pairs of successive test sessions. Systematic restrictions on model parameters allow testing the hypothetical reduction in anxiety interference over the test sessions, which can be compared to retest effect sizes. In an empirical study with seven measurement occasions, we found that a substantial reduction in interference upon the second test session was associated with the largest retest effect in a figural matrices test, which served as a proxy measure for general intelligence. However, smaller retest effects occurred up to the fourth test administration, whereas evidence for anxiety-induced measurement bias was only produced for the first two test sessions. Anxiety and ability were not negatively correlated at any time when the interference effects were controlled for. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Internalising symptoms and verbal working memory in school-age children: A processing efficiency analysis

The current study investigated differential contributions of internalising symptoms (state anxiety, trait anxiety, depression) to school-age children's verbal short-term (STM) and working memory (WM) span accuracy and efficiency (microanalysis of response times). Children's (N = 125, M_age  = 11.44 years) STM/WM was assessed with simple/complex span tasks. Our analyses revealed that: (a) children with high levels of state anxiety displayed reduced simple span accuracy (on Word span) and poorer efficiency on both simple (preparatory intervals, interword pauses) and complex span (preparatory intervals) response time segments; (b) trait anxiety was a negative predictor of children's complex span accuracy, as well as their efficiency on both simple (word durations) and complex span (interword pauses) response time measures; (3) depressive symptoms predicted longer simple span interword pauses. Findings indicate that while all internalising symptoms were predictive of children's poorer memory search efficiency, especially during the "silent", executive intervals (interword pauses), anxiety symptoms were specifically predictive of children's impaired span accuracy and other efficiency indicators (preparatory intervals, word durations). The study highlights the differential contributions of state, trait anxiety, and depressive symptoms to STM/WM in children, emphasising the need to measure both accuracy and efficiency to assess the role that such symptoms play in children's performance.

An Investigation of Executive Functioning in Pediatric Anxiety

Although science's understanding (e.g., etiology, maintaining factors, etc.) of pediatric anxiety and related problems has grown substantially over recent years, several aspects to anxiety in youths remain elusive, particularly with relation to executive functioning. To this end, the current study sought to examine several facets to executive functioning (i.e., cognitive flexibility, inhibition, planning, working memory) within a transdiagnostic sample of youths exhibiting varying degrees of anxiety symptoms. One hundred six youths completed a comprehensive battery, including several self-report measures (e.g., Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children [MASC] or MASC-2) and an automated neurocognitive battery of several executive functioning tasks (Intradimensional/Extradimensional [IDED], Stop Signal [SST], Spatial Span [SSP], Stockings of Cambridge [SOC] tasks). Regression analyses indicated that youths exhibiting marked anxiety symptoms demonstrated increased planning time and probability of inhibition compared with youths with minimal or no anxiety symptoms. Youths with marked anxiety symptoms similarly demonstrated better cognitive flexibility (i.e., set shifting) compared with youths with minimal anxiety. In addition, analyses indicated a trend such that youths exhibiting marked anxiety symptoms demonstrated poorer working memory compared with youths with no anxiety symptoms. Group classification did not predict remaining outcomes. Limitations and future areas of research are discussed.

The Effectiveness of Slow-Stroke Back Massage on Hospitalization Anxiety and Physiological Parameters in School-Age Children: A Randomized Clinical Trial Study

Background

The outcomes of hospitalization anxiety are mental health disorders. One of the methods of anxiety reduction is massage, which can cause reduction of pain and changes in physiological parameters.

Objectives

This study aimed to investigate the effects of slow-stroke back massage (SSBM) on hospitalization anxiety and physiological parameters in school-age children.

Methods

This clinical trial study included 80 school-aged children from Ali Ebne Abi Taleb hospital, located in Zahedan, who were selected using sequential sampling and randomly divided into two groups: a massage group (40) and a control group (40). Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and the state-trait anxiety inventory for children (STAIC). Subjects in the massage group received SSBM, using sesame oil, for 3 days. Massage was given three times a day, and each massage session lasted for 15 - 20 minutes. Physiological parameters and hospitalization anxiety were determined from the second to fifth days. T-test and Chi-square were used for analysis data.

Results

There was a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) between the mean of systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressures (DBP), and pulse rate (PR) in the massage group prior to intervention (97.05 ± 20.7, 60.35 ± 16.69 and 95.45 ± 13.02 respectively) and on the fifth day (88.32 ± 16.58, 55.95 ± 12.7 and 90.45 ± 15.1 respectively). However, no difference was observed in mean respiratory rate (RR) in the massage group from the second day (17.55 ± 3.6) to fifth day (17.62 ± 3.27) (P = 0.096). The mean of state of anxiety, which was 36.4 ± 5.1 before intervention, was reduced by the fifth day to 31.2 ± 5.1 in the massage group (P < 0.0001, t = 5.2).

Conclusions

The results suggest that massage reduced hospitalization anxiety, PR, and BP. Therefore, we propose that nurses can use massage to reduce anxiety in school-age children in hospital. This method has no side-effects and is easily applicable.

Executive Functioning Profiles and Test Anxiety in College Students

The current study attempted to answer whether a specific executive functioning profile for individuals with test anxiety exists and whether deficits in working memory are associated with an earlier onset of test anxiety. Two hundred eighty-four undergraduate students completed a survey on test anxiety and self-report measures of test anxiety and executive functioning. Executive functioning profiles were compared between test anxiety groups (below average, average, and above average) for differences in severity and pattern. Onset of test anxiety was analyzed in relation to working memory. Executive functioning profiles were found to significantly vary in severity and pattern based on level of test anxiety. Working memory varied significantly based on onset of test anxiety. These results suggest that deficits across multiple areas of executive functioning may provide a more robust etiology for test anxiety. In addition, working memory deficits may be an early indicator for the development of test anxiety.

The Influence of Math Anxiety, Math Performance, Worry, and Test Anxiety on the Iowa Gambling Task and Balloon Analogue Risk Task

Multiple studies have shown that performance on behavioral decision-making tasks, such as the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), is influenced by external factors, such as mood. However, the research regarding the influence of worry is mixed, and no research has examined the effect of math or test anxiety on these tasks. The present study investigated the effects of anxiety (including math anxiety) and math performance on the IGT and BART in a sample of 137 undergraduate students. Math performance and worry were not correlated with performance on the IGT, and no variables were correlated with BART performance. Linear regressions indicated math anxiety, physiological anxiety, social concerns/stress, and test anxiety significantly predicted disadvantageous selections on the IGT during the transition from decision making under ambiguity to decision making under risk. Implications for clinical evaluation of decision making are discussed.