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Originalia

Test Anxiety, Self-Control, and Knowledge Retrieval in Secondary School Students

Published Online:October 22, 2014https://doi.org/10.1026/0049-8637/a000111

Abstract

The relationship between anxiety and performance has been found to depend on momentary self-control strength. In a sample of secondary school students (N = 136), we examined whether this finding can be generalized to knowledge retrieval. First, participants’ test anxiety was assessed and their self-control strength was experimentally manipulated, and then they completed a standardized vocabulary test as a measure of knowledge retrieval. While knowledge retrieval was not a function of test anxiety or self-control strength, the interaction of both variables predicted the knowledge demonstrated. In line with previous research, students with low self-control strength performed worse the more test anxious they were. In contrast, anxiety was unrelated to vocabulary performance in students with high self-control strength. We interpret this pattern such that test anxiety only hampers knowledge retrieval when self-control cannot be used to compensate for anxiety-related attentional deficits. This finding suggests that thorough preparation does not guarantee good test grades.

Es wurde kürzlich gezeigt, dass die Stärke des Zusammenhangs zwischen Angst und Leistung von der momentan vorhandenen Selbstkontrollkraft abhängt. Wir untersuchten an einer Stichprobe aus Wirtschaftsschülern (N = 136), ob dieser Befund auf den Abruf von Wissen generalisierbar ist. Die Leistungsängstlichkeit der Teilnehmenden wurde erfasst und deren Selbstkontrollkraft experimentell manipuliert, woraufhin sie einen standardisierten Wortschatztest bearbeiteten. Während das Wissen nicht von der Leistungsängstlichkeit oder der Selbstkontrollkraft abhing, sagte die Interaktion aus beiden Variablen das gezeigte Wissen vorher. Übereinstimmend mit früheren Studien fiel die Leistung von Schülern mit niedriger Selbstkontrollkraft umso geringer aus, je leistungsängstlicher sie waren. Bei Schülern mit hoher Selbstkontrollkraft hingen die Leistungsängstlichkeit und die Wortschatzleistung hingegen nicht zusammen. Wir interpretieren dieses Muster dergestalt, dass Leistungsängstlichkeit den Wissensabruf nur dann behindert, wenn Selbstkontrolle nicht zur Kompensierung angstbezogener Aufmerksamkeitsdefizite herangezogen werden kann. Die Befunde implizieren, dass gründliche Vorbereitung keine guten Testnoten garantiert.

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