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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 84 (2013) 303 307

3rd World Conference on Psychology, Counselling and Guidance (WCPCG-2012)

Efficacy of Cognitive Therapy in the Treatment of Test Anxiety

Karim Babayi Nadinloyia* , Hasan Sadeghib, Nasser Sobhi Garamalekic, Hamed Rostamia, Gader Hatamia
a

MA. General Psychology , Mohaghegh Ardabili University , Ardabil Islamic Republic of Iran, b MA. Clinical Psychology, Science and Research University , Islamic Republic of Iran c Assistant prf.Dept.of psychology, Mohaghegh Arabili University , Islamic Republic of Iran

Abstract This research investigates the efficacy of cognitive therapy in reducing test anxiety. The method of this study was experimental and the target population was undergraduate students of Tehran city. The sample consisted of 90 girls randomly selected from the subjects who were diagnosed as with test anxiety by TAI and psychological interview. Subjects were assigned randomly to experimental and control groups with regard personality components (Introvert and Extravert). The cognitive therapy was used as therapy techniques.A one way analysis of variance showed significant differences between experimental and control groups in variables of test anxiety. Tuky test demonstrated that cognitive therapy was effective in reducing test anxiety. In addition t test demonstrated that cognitive therapy was more effective in reducing test anxiety of introvert students.
2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of Prof. Huseyin Uzunboylu &responsibility Dr. Mukaddes of Demirok, Near East University, Cyprus 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection andDr. peer review under the Dr. Melehat Halat
Key words: Test anxiety, cognitive therapy, introvert, students.

Introduction Anxiety does not feel good. For test anxious students who spend a lot of their time in achievement contexts that involve regular testing, anxiety may tremendously affect their well-being. In addition, test anxiety can impair performance (Spielberger & Vagg, 1995; Zeidner, 1998).However, and possibilities may exist for people who are predisposed to test anxiety to avoid suffering from anxiety in test situations. In principle, human beings have the ability to deliberately alter their emotional experience; that is, they have the ability to self-regulate their emotional states (Tice & Bratslavsky, 2000). Unfortunately, people often fail to self-regulate. An explanation for when and why people fail in self-regulation is given by the strength model of self-control (Baumeister, Vohs, & Tice, 2007). Within this framework, the terms self-regulation and self-control are usually used interchangeably and can be defined as the restraining or overriding of a response, thereby making a different response possible (Baumeister et al., 2007). Several meta-analyses have documented that self-reported test anxiety correlates negatively with test performance (Ackerman & Heggestad, 1997; Hembree, 1988; Seipp, 1991).

* Corresponding author. Tel.: 0098 9141102838 E-mail address: Kbabayi66@yahoo.com

1877-0428 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Huseyin Uzunboylu & Dr. Mukaddes Demirok, Near East University, Cyprus doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.06.556

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The persistent finding of a negative relation between test anxiety and test performance understandably creates concern that test anxiety might result in biased or inaccurate predictions (Haladyna & Downing, 2004; Zeidner, 166) that accompany testing. It is a subjective emotional state experienced before or during a specific evaluation relating to the act of completing the evaluation itself, the threat of failing, and perceived negative consequences. Thus, test anxiety is conceptualized as the manifestation of a situation- specific trait (Zeidner, 1998). Modern views of test anxiety conceptualize it as having two major components: Worry and Emotionality (Cassady & Johnson, 2001; Spielberger & Vagg, 1995; see also Liebert & Morris, 1967). Generally, there are two kinds of antecedent variables. One type of antecedent variables increases students' test anxiety level and shows maladaptive (but positive, in statistical terms) relations with anxiety. For example, task difficulty was found to be positively related with anxiety (see Eysenck, 1982 for a review). Another type of antecedent variables decreases students' anxiety level. For example, optimism showed negative correlation with test anxiety (Kleijn, van der Ploeg, & Topman, 1994). According to cognitive models of anxiety and performance (Eysenck, 1992), test-anxious individuals show impaired performance because part of their working memory is occupied with task- irrelevant thoughts such as worries about the performance and thoughts about failure, leading to inferior performance in memory tasks. Worry is the cognitive component of test anxiety reflecting the debilitating thoughts and concerns the test-taker has before or during the test. The Emotionality component (sometimes called Tension) refers to the heightened physiological symptoms stemming from arousal of the autonomic nervous system and associated affective responses. As mentioned above, the negative correlation between test anxiety and various evaluative outcomes has been found across several domains. -analysis showed negative correlations between test anxiety and performance on IQ, aptitude, memory and problem-solving tests. He also found negative correlations for several school-related outcomes such as overall grades, and performance in language and mathematics tests, among other outcomes. Similar results are comprehensively reviewed by Zeidner (1998, 2007). Given these findings, it is not surprising that test anxiety has been posited as a potential biasing factor in test performance. In an achievement-oriented society, tests are widely used to evaluate students and applicants for admission to higher education and access to labour markets. Since test scores are so important for academic and career development, students are naturally under tremendous pressure to achieve high test scores; thus, test anxiety has become a universal experience in contemporary society (Lee, 2009;Stankov, 2010) and has shown an increasing trend as students are promoted to higher grade levels Also in this study we investigate the efficacy of cognitive therapy in reducing test anxiety. And we want to answer this question that whether cognitive therapy can reduce the test anxiety? Method and Finding The study was experimental. And samples were undergraduate students in Tehran. The experimental group included 90 females that diagnosed as peoples with test anxiety in psychological interviewing that performed by psychology experts. Subjects in this study included two experimental groups and control groups. And to examine the research hypotheses used of pre-test and post-test. And for data analysis used a one way method.
Table 1 -The mean scores for all components as separately for personality factors in the pre-test anxiety groups, and follow-up test Position Pre-test Past-test Follow up subjects Groups mean Standard deviation mean Standard deviation mean Standard deviatio n

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introvert extrovert total extrovert Control extrovert total

305

Cognitive therapy

Results Table 1 shows the mean scores for all components of test anxiety group of intervention in post-test and follow-up procedures, compared with pre-test have been significant changes.
Table 2 - Summary variance analysis result of difference scores of anxiety test the Intervention and control groups in post-test Source of variation Sum squares DF Mean square F ratio P Between subjects Inside subjects The total 2 87 89

Sig. level p<0/05 As Table 2 shows the different treatment groups and control subjects in terms level of test anxiety are significant differences. In other words, groups of experimental and control subjects after applying interventional procedures level of test anxiety. And applying interventional procedures reduced their anxiety level. Tuky test that cognitive therapy is effective in reducing anxiety in students.
Table 3 - Summary Results of two-way ANOVA on the difference between pre-test and post-test anxiety groups as separate in individual components Source of variation Group Personality P F ratio Mean square DF Sum of square

Error

As in Table (3) is observed, there is a significant difference between pretest and posttest anxiety scales with introvert and extrovert students in cognitive therapy and control groups (p<0/01). However, in personality components has been not obtained significant differences, but the interaction of personality factors with treatment groups, Shows the effects of personality factors in the effectiveness of type of treatment. The results of Tuky test showed significant difference between mean of "cognitive therapy group with control group and study skills groups ". Results show cognitive therapy is effective in reducing test anxiety in students. Conclusion CT is a general scientific approach to psychological disorders that has been the foundation of a wide variety of psychological treatments. The overarching principle of these interventions is that cognitions causally influence emotional experiences and behaviors. The CT techniques focus on the reappraisal and the memory of the trauma. In contrast, the CT model of health anxiety assumes that it is the dysfunctional cognitive processes of a multitude of

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current or future experiences, rather than the dysfunctional processing of an identifiable event in the past, that is associated with emotional distress and maladaptive behaviours (Stefan G. Hofmann, 2010). This model further assumes that many different harmless physical sensations or minor and benign unexplained consistently interpreted as being indicative of a serious physical disease in the present or future. Characteristic features of health anxiety include disease conviction and preoccupation, as well as other dysfunctional beliefs that motivate maladaptive coping behaviors. Similar to PTSD, the cognitions and behavioral responses associated with severe health anxiety are intended to reduce perceived threat and distress; however, although effective in the short term, these responses typically prevent cognitive change and thereby serve to perpetuate and often exacerbate anxiety. In the present study it was shown that cognitive therapy reduced both components of test anxiety (exciting and concern). But the effect of cognitive therapy on concern component was more considerably than a component of exciting. Thus, this finding confirmed some studies (Gonzalez, 1995, Vag et al, 1995 and Astober and Pekron, 2004). The mentioned research based on the assumption that therapies focus of cognition significantly affects the component of concern. And caused reduction of these components rather than component of exciting. According to the Holandwors and diphenbacher (1985), people with test anxiety, focused on their attention on activities unrelated to the task, mental engaged with anxiety, self-criticism and physical concerns and less focused on their core task attempts and efforts. That it caused to increase of anxiety and their academic performance reduced. In contrast, task-related thoughts and positive evaluations of their performance help to improve the performance. Thus, irrelevant thoughts and negative self-evaluations as "deterrent task" and related-task thoughts and positive evaluations are as "facilitate task". Thus therapies based on cognition can be successful with improved and reducing negative and unpleasant thoughts, and subsequently reduction of test anxiety and increasing academic performance. In summary according present findings we can say that cognitive therapy is an effective treatment for prevention of test anxiety. The effects of cognitive therapy with effect on components of concern reduce of test anxiety and since introverted students basically are more anxious than extrovert students; therefore cognitive therapy is more effective in reducing their anxiety rather than Study skills training.

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