Two Types of Test-Anxious Students: Support for an Information Processing Model

• Published in: Journal of educational psychology 1987-06, Vol.79 (2), p.131-136
• Main Authors: Naveh-Benjamin, Moshe, McKeachie, Wilbert J, Lin, Yi-Guang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Academic Underachievement; Biological and medical sciences; Cognitive Processes; College Students; Educational psychology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human; Information Processing Model; Learning; Orientation. Evaluation; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Social research; Student Characteristics; Study Habits; Test Anxiety
• ISSN: 0022-0663; 1939-2176
• DOI: 10.1037/0022-0663.79.2.131

The purpose of this research was to further investigate the information processing model suggested by Benjamin, McKeachie, Lin, and Holinger (1981) in explaining the poor academic performance of highly test-anxious students. Whereas previous studies pointing to deficits in the organization stage of processing mainly relied on self-reports, the first study of this research used a technique that enabled us to measure objectively the organization of course material by students in a nonevaluative situation. Results indicated that highly test-anxious students showed a disadvantage in organization of course material, in comparison with other students. In the second study, we investigated whether types of highly test-anxious students can be differentiated by their information processing skills. The first type includes those with good study habits who do not have problems in encoding and organizing the information but, rather, have a major problem in retrieval for a test. The second type includes those with poor study habits who have problems in all stages of processing. Such a distinction was supported by results comparing performance of these types of highly test-anxious students in an evaluative and a nonevaluative situation.