Running Head: ARE THEY RELATED?

AreTheyRelated?
MindfulnessTraining,TestAnxietyandPerformance

ChristinaMajcher
UniversityofCalgary

April2014

ARE THEY RELATED?

Abstract
Testanxietyisacommonchallengeforfirstyearuniversitystudents.Itnegativelyimpacts
academicsuccessandhampersoverallmentalwellbeing.105universityparticipantstookpart
inasixweekmindfulnesstrainingintervention.Attheendoftheterm,studentswereaskedto
reporttheirfinalexammarkalongwithratingtheirlevelofanxietytohelpdetermineifa
relationshipexistsbetweentestanxiety,mindfulnesstrainingandperformance.Training
sessionswerefocusedonpsychoeducationandskillbuildingalongwithmindfulnesstrainingto
seeifindividualswereabletoimprovetheirabilitytomanagetheirtestanxiety.Theresultsof
thecorrelationalstudyindicatedastatisticallysignificantreductioninanxietyandimprovedtest
performance.Implicationsoftheseresultsforthetreatmentoftestanxietyandfuture
recommendationsarediscussed.

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TheEffectsofMindfulnessTrainingonTestAnxietyandPerformance
Wehaveallbeenthereatsomepointintime:ourheartspoundinourchest,ourpalms
aresweaty,beadsofperspirationstartformingonourforeheadandourmindsappeartoshut
down.Wespendthenexthourortwotryingtoproveourexpertiseandunderstandingaswefill
inshortanswerquestions,matchitems,andcirclethebestanswer.Theinstructorcollectsthe
testsandweruminateallnightaboutwhetherornotwepassed.Soundfamiliar?
Allstagesofeducationrequireformativeandsummativeassessment.Whenchildrenare
young,mostassessmentisobservationalandanecdotal.However,asstudentsprogressthrough
theyears,thereisanincreasedexpectationtodemonstrateknowledgeandunderstanding.Often
thisknowledgeismeasuredthroughtestsandexams.AsZeidner(1998)notes,itisalmost
impossibletogrowupinmodernsocietywithoutencounteringsometypeoftest(p.4).
Unfortunately,manyindividualsstrugglewithtestanxiety.Forsome,testanxietymightpresent
asbutterflieswhereasothersarefacedwithcripplingphysiologicalandbehaviouralresponses
aboutthepossiblefailureornegativeconsequencesassociatedwithanexam(Chapelletal.,
2005).Thisstresscanseriouslyhamperastudentsabilitytodemonstratetheirtruecognitive
potential.
Testanxietyisoneofthemostresearchedtopicsincontemporarysociety.Theconstruct
hasexistedforoversixtyyears(Hembree,1998).Itcanbedefinedasanindividual'sreaction
tothetestingsituationcharacterizedbyworry,intrusivethoughts,tension,andphysiological

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arousal(Gass&Curiel,2011,p.396).Alargenumberoftheoreticalmodelshavebeen
developedovertheyearstounderstandboththeimpactandpotentialcausesoftestanxietythat
impactstudentsworldwide(Zeidner,1998;Chapelletal.,2005).Thefirststudyontestanxiety
wasperformedbySeymourSaransonandGeorgeMandleratYaleUniversity(Mandler&
Saranson,1952;Hembree,1998;Zeidner,1998).However,thetrueoriginsoftheeffectsof
behaviouronperformancedatebacktoapivotalstudyconductedbyYerkesandDodson(1908).
Theirtheorywasthefirsttopredictacurvilinearrelationshipbetweentestperformanceand
anxiety(Yerkes&Dodson,1908;Sapp,2013).Theresultsoftheirresearchindicatedthata
moderateamountofanxietycanhelpmotivatealearnerandleadtooptimalperformance,buttoo
muchortoolittleanxietycanresultinthedeteriorationofperformance(Yerkes&Dodson,
1908;Sapp,2013).
Manyyearslater,RocklinandThompson(1985)conductedresearchexploringthe
interactiveeffectsoftestanxiety,testdifficultyandfeedback.ResultscontrastedwithYerkes
andDodsons(1908)curvilinearrelationshipindicatingaonedirectional,linearrelationship
betweentestanxietyandperformance(Rocklin&Thompson,1985;Sapp,2013).Rocklinand
Thompson(1985)furtherstudiedtheinteractionbetweentestanxietyanditemdifficulty,
hypothesizingthatdifficulttestsresultinincreasedanxiety(Sapp,2013).Theresultsoftheir
studyindicatedthatperformancewasaffectedbyanindividualsanxietylevelwiththeleast
anxiousindividualsperformingwellonchallengingtests,moderatelyanxiousindividuals
performingatoptimumleveloneasyexamsandanxiousindividualsperformingpoorlyonboth
difficultandeasyexams(Rocklin&Thompson,1985;Sapp,2013).

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Agreatdealofresearchhasbeenconductedsincetheseearlystudies,leadingtomultiple
perspectivesregardingtherelationshipbetweentestanxietyandtestperformance.Although
therearemultiplemodelswithdiverseanddifferingtheories,thereisoverwhelmingagreement
thattestanxietyisrelatedtoloweracademicperformance(Zeidler,1998;Chapelletal.,2005;
Nelson&Knight,2010;Brownetal.,2011;Damer&Melendres,2011).Ithasbeenindicated
thattestanxietyaffects2035%ofthestudentpopulation(Zeidner,1998;Damer&Melendres,
2011).
WhileNelsonandKnight(2010)statehighertestanxietyisassociatedwithlowergrade
pointaveragesforbothundergraduateandgraduatestudents,testanxietycanbeparticularly
challengingforfirstyearstudents.Itisnosurprisethatindividualsenteringuniversityhave
increasedfeelingsofworryandinsecurityasgradesbegintoimpactfuturejobplacement
(Nelson&Knight,2010).Worryaboutexaminationsisanaturalfactofstudentlife.However,
manystudieshavedemonstratedthatdecreasedperformanceisnotlinkedtoabilityorintellect
(Zeidner,1998;Keogh,Bond,French,Richards&Davis,2004;Gass&Curiel,2011).Iftest
anxietyisnotrelatedtoability,onemightwonderwhatfactorsmightinfluenceandimpair
performance.
Thepresentstudyaimstoinvestigateifthereisarelationshipbetweenmindfulnessanti
anxietytraining,testanxiety,andtestperformance.Muchresearchhasbeenconducted
exploringfactorsthatmayhelpreducetestanxiety.However,welackknowledgeaboutwhether
thereisacorrelationbetweenthesevariables.Wewerealsointerestedintheresulting
performanceontheexam.

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Weconsiderantianxietycopingskillstobeworthyofinvestigationfortwomain
reasons.Firstly,studentsemotions,copingskillsandstrategiesareimportantcomponentsof
studenthealthandoverallwellbeingandaworthytopicofresearchonitsown.Secondly,we
knowfrompreviousresearchthatemotionalstatecanimpactachievementoutcomes(Hembree,
1998;Chapelletal.,2005;Putwain&Best,2011;Damer&Melendres,2011).Astudyby
PutwainandBest(2011)eloquentlydemonstratestheimpactoffearusedpriortoatest,resulting
inincreasedtestanxietyandanegativeeffectonperformance.Itisnosurprisethatstudents
receivedlowertestscoreswhenpresentedwithrepeatandforcefulmessagesfromteachersabout
theimportance,timingandconsequencesoffailingforthcomingtests(Putwain&Best,2011).
Althoughthisstudylendssupporttothenegativeassociationbetweenanxietyandtest
performance,itdoesnotprovideinformationonhowindividualscanimpactormanagetheir
levelofanxiety,therebyimpactingtheoutcomeontheirtest.
Onemightwonderwhatcanbedonetohelpreducetestanxiety.Themosteffectivetest
anxietyinterventionsarethosethatcombinestudyskillsandstrategieswithcognitiveand
behaviouralapproaches(Damer&Melendres,2011).Severalstudiesexploringcognitive
therapyprincipleshavealsoindicatedareductionintestanxiety(Brownetal.,2011).However,
manyofthesestudieshaveshownthatcognitivetherapywasnobetterorevenlesseffectivethan
behaviouronlytreatments(Hembree,1998).Somestudieshavealsoshownthatinterventions
thatreduceanindividualsanxietymaynotinturnproducehighertestscores(Damer&
Melendres,2011).Infact,focusingonskillssuchastesttakingstrategiesinsteadofreducing
anxietyhaveshowntobemoreeffectiveinenhancingacademicperformance(Brownetal.,
2011,Damer&Melendres,2011).

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Wewereinterestedinexploringmindfulnessinrelationtotestanxiety.Researchon
mindfulnessbasedstressreductionisshowingpromisingeffects.Although cognitive behaviour
therapy (CBT) continues to be the most common form of intervention to treat anxiety, the
concept of mindfulness-based stress reduction has come to the forefront in recent years. This is
because some researchers believe that cognitive behaviour therapy does not address the
psychological processing difficulties of emotional regulation and mindfulness that are typical
symptoms associated with generalized anxiety disorder (Roemer et al., 2009). The intent of
mindfulness training is to teach a person to pay attention on purpose, through an active process
that involves attention that leads to awareness (Hooker & Foder, 2008). It encourages a person
to regard their current external environment and internal experiences to observe these
experiences, accept them, and to let them go (Hooker & Foder, 2008). This increased attention
to the present moment helps an individual think of multiple ways to reappraise a current situation
successfully, thus helping to break the habitual cycle of worry (Roemer & Orsillo, 2007; Troy et
al., 2012). Could these same strategies help individuals with test anxiety?
Given the effectiveness of current mindfulness training on anxiety, we hypothesized that
first- year university students who received mindfulness training would show reduced levels of
anxiety during testing situations. We felt that the more hours an individual spent in training
would directly correlate to a decreased level of anxiety. We also hypothesized that individuals
that participated in mindfulness training would have higher test results.
Method
Participants
Participantsincluded105firstyearpsychologystudentsfromalargeuniversitylocated
inWesternCanada.Eachindividualwasrecruitedviainclassannouncementsandwas

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compensatedwitha$100stipendfortheirparticipation.Therewere44malesand62females,
withagesrangingbetween18and50years(mean:22.08years,S.D.:5.86).Ethnicitiesof
participantsincludedCaucasian(63%),Asian(27%),Latino(3%),Black(2%)andmultiracialor
other(5%).Potentialparticipantswereexcludediftheywerediagnosedwithanexistinganxiety
disorder.Inaddition,participantswerescreenedwiththeHamiltonAnxietyRatingScale
(HAMA).Individualsdemonstratingsevereanxietywerealsoexcludedfromthestudy.Itwas
ensuredthatallindividualswereregisteredforanendoftermfinalexam.

Materials
TheHamiltonAnxietyRatingScalewasusedasascreener.Theothertwomeasures
wereadministeredatpreinterventionandagainwithin48hoursofadministrationofthefinal
exam.Individualswerealsogivenaonepagegeneralinformationmeasurewithquestionsabout
age,sex,GPA,socioeconomicstatus(SES)andethnicity.
HamiltonAnxietyRatingScale(HAMAA).TheHAMAA(Hamilton,1959)isoneofthefirst
ratingscalesdevelopedtomeasuretheseverityofanxietysymptomsthatisstillwidelyuse
today.Itconsistsof14itemsscoredonascaleof0(notpresent)to4(severe)withatotalscore
rangeof056,with<17indicatingmildseverity,1824mildtomoderateseverityand2530
moderatetosevere.Itisconsideredavalidandreliablemeasurewithacceptablelevelsofinter
raterreliability(Maier,Buller,Philipp&Heuser,1988).
PhiladelphiaMindfulnessScale(PHLMS).ThePHLMS(Cardaciotto&Herbert,2005)isa20
itemmeasurementwhereindividualsratetheirlevelofacceptanceofvariousthoughtsand

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feelings.IndividualsuseaLikerttypescalefrom1(never)to5(veryoften).ThePHLMSis
reportedtobebothvalidandreliable.
TestAnxietyInventory(TAI).TheTAI(Speilbergeretal.,1980)wasadministeredtoestablisha
baselinemeasureagainstwhichtomeasureandevaluateprogress.Thistooliscomprisedof20
itemsdescribingtestanxietysymptomssuchas,IfreezeuponimportantexamsandDuring
testsIfindmyselfthinkingabouttheconsequencesoffailing.Itemsareratedfrom1(almost
neverto4(almostalways).Thisassessmentmeasurehasshowngoodreliabilityandvalidity
withgoodtestretestreliability(Speilbergeretal.,1980).

Procedure
Datawascollectedintwoseparatesessions.Questionnaireswereadministeredto
participatingstudentsattheuniversitybytrainedgraduatestudents.Individualswereaskedto
completethePhiladelphiaMindfulnessScaleandTestAnxietyInventory.Aftercompletingthe
initialmeasures,participantswereprovidedwithageneraloverviewofthemindfulnesstraining
bythegraduatestudents.Themindfulnesstrainingsessionsranforsixweeksinagroupformat
withtakehomeactivities.ARegisteredPsychologistandaRegisteredClinicalCounsellorled
thegroups.Eachweekbeganwithaquicksharingofthepreviousweekstopicandacheckin
wherestudentswereencouragedtosharetheirsuccessesandchallenges.Therestofthesessions
werefocusedonpsychoeducationandskillbuildingalongwithmindfulnesstraining.
Individualswereaskedtotrackhourscommittedtomindfulnesstrainingandpractice.
Roughly2monthslater,criteriondata(performanceontest)andanxietyexperiencedduring

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criterionperformancewascollected.Inaddition,participantssubmittedhoursofmindfulness
training.Acorrelationalstudy,aquantitativemethodofresearch,wasconductedtocomparethe
threegroupsanddetermineiftherewasarelationshiporcovariationbetweenthevariables.
Results
DescriptivestatisticsarepresentedinTable1.Abootstrapfunctionwasusedtohelpgetrobust
confidenceintervals.
Table1
DescriptiveStatistics
Mean
ExamPerformance
ExamAnxiety
TimeSpenton
Mindfulness
Training

56.92
74.12
19.81

Standard
Deviation
25.90
17.18
18.07

N
105
105
105

Note:TestAnxietyInventorywasusedtocollectdataonexam
anxiety

Table2
CorrelationsWithoutControlledVariables
ExamPerformance
ExamPerformance

ExamAnxiety

103

MindfulnessTraining

103

ExamAnxiety
[.564,.322]

Note:*Correlationissignificantatp<.001(2tailed),BCabootstrap95%CIsreported
APearsonscorrelationcoefficientwascomputedtoassesstherelationshipbetweentest
anxiety,testperformanceandmindfulnesstraining.AspredictedandindicatedinTable2,there

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wasacorrelationbetweenallofthevariables.Therewasamoderate,negativecorrelation
betweenexamperformanceandexamanxiety,r=.45,df=103,p=0.Ascatterplot
summarizestheresultsandthisinverserelationshipinFigure1.Asanxietyaboutexams
increase,thepercentagemarkintheexamdecreases.Therewasastrong,positivecorrelation
betweenexamanxietyandmindfulnesstraining,r=.71,df=103,p=0.Ascatterplot
summarizestheresultsofthispositiverelationshipinFigure2.Astheamountoftimespentin
mindfulnesstrainingincreases,thepercentageintheexamincreases.Therewasaweakto
moderate,negativecorrelationbetweenexamperformanceandmindfulnesstraining,r=.40,df=
103,p=0.AscatterplotsummarizestheresultsinFigure3.Asthetimespentinmindfulness
trainingincreases,thestudentsanxietyabouttheexamdecreases.Allsignificantvalueswere
belowthestandardcriterionof0.001,indicatingastatisticallysignificantrelationship.

Table3
ControllingfortheEffectsofMindfulnessTraining
ExamPerformance ExamAnxiety
ExamPerformance

.261*
Note:*Correlationissignificantatp<.05(2tailed)

AsnotedinTable3,thepartialcorrelationbetweenexamperformanceandexamanxiety
is.261,whichisconsiderablylessthanthecorrelationwhentheeffectofmindfulnesstraining
wasnotcontrolledfor(r=.451).Thisisstatisticallysignificant(p=.007).
Discussion
Themainpurposeofthisstudywastoinvestigatetherelationshipbetweentestanxiety,
performanceandtimespentinmindfulnesstraininginalargesampleoffirstyearuniversity

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students.Webeganourstudywithacorrelationalstudytocomparethethreegroupsto
determineiftherewasarelationshipbetweenvariables.Theresultsindicatethattestanxietyis
relatedtoreducedtestscores.Asanxietyaboutexamsincrease,thepercentagemarkintheexam
decreases.Thereisalsoarelationshipbetweenmindfulnesstrainingandincreasedtestscores.
Astheamountoftimespentinmindfulnesstrainingincreases,thepercentageintheexam
increases.Finally,theresultsindicatedarelationshipbetweenmindfulnesstrainingand
decreasedanxiety.Asthetimespentinmindfulnesstrainingincreases,thestudentsanxiety
abouttheexamdecreases.Theresultsdemonstratethatthereisacomplexinterrelationship
betweenthethreevariables.Thisinformationsupportsourhypothesisthatfirstyearstudents
whoreceivedmindfulnesstrainingwouldshowreducedlevelsofanxietyandimprovedtest
marks.
Lookingatthecorrelationofdeterminationandthevaluesoftheserelationships,we
knowthatexamanxietyaccountsfor20%ofthevarianceinexamperformance,thatmindfulness
trainingaccountsfor16%ofthevarianceinexamperformanceandthatmindfulnesstraining
accountsfor50.2%ofthevarianceinexamanxiety.Ifmindfulnesstrainingaccountsforhalfof
thevarianceinexamanxiety,itseemsfeasiblethatsomeofthe20%ofvarianceinexam
performancethatisaccountedforbyanxietyisthesamevariancethatisaccountedforby
mindfulnesstraining.Assuch,someofthevarianceinexamperformanceexplainedbyexam
anxietyisnotuniqueandcanbeaccountedforbymindfulnesstraining.Itishelpfultoconducta
partialcorrelationbetweenexamperformanceandexamanxietywhilecontrollingtheeffectsof
mindfulnesstraining.Intermsofvariance,thecoefficientofdeterminationforthepartial
correlationis.07,indicatingthatexamanxietynowsharesonly7%ofthevarianceinexam

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performance(comparedto20%whenmindfulnesstrainingwasnotcontrolled).Examanxiety
aloneexplainssomeofthevariationinexamscores,butitalsoindicatesacomplexrelationship
betweenanxiety,mindfulnesstrainingandexamperformance.Theseresultsareconsistentwith
whatwouldbeexpectedbasedonpreviousresearch.Asnoted,DamerandMelendres(2011)
haveindicatedthatthemosteffectivetestanxietyinterventionsarethosethatcombinestudy
skills,strategieswithcognitiveandbehaviouralapproaches.Webelievethatthe
psychoeducationprovidedalongwiththemindfulnesstraininghelpedindicatearelationship
betweenexamanxietyandmindfulnesstraining.
Althoughtheresultsofthisstudyhaveindicatedacorrelationalrelationship,itdoesnot
indicatecausality.Thisallowsforfutureresearchinthisarea.Inparticular,itwouldbe
beneficialtoresearchthecausalrelationshipbetweenthevariablestodetermineifmindfulness
trainingleadstoreducedlevelsofanxiety.Atrueexperimentcouldbeconductedwithcontrol
groupshavingonegroupparticipateinthemindfulnesstrainingandonegroupreceivingno
training.Thiswouldallowresearcherstoinvestigatetheimpactofmindfulnessantianxiety
trainingtoreducetestanxietyandexaminetherelationshipwithtestperformance.Itcould
providefurtherinformationontheeffectsofspecificinterventionstohelpindividualsincrease
copingabilitiesandstrategiesduringatestingsituation.Resultscouldthenbeexaminedto
determinewhetherstateemotionalexperienceswhileperforminganendoftermpsychology
examdifferedaccordingtothelevelofstudentsmindfulnessantianxietytraining.Thecurrent
studywasthefirststepindeterminingarelationshipbeforecreatingascenariothatbetter
understandstheserelationships.

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Figure1.

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Anxiety and Exam Score

f(x) = - 0.68x + 107.27
R = 0.2
Exam
Linear (Exam)

Figure2.

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Mindfulness Intervention and Exam Score

f(x) = 0.57x + 45.64

R = 0.16
Exam
Linear (Exam)

Figure3.

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Anxiety and Hours Spent in Mindfulness Training

Study
f(x) = - 0.74x + 74.94
R = 0.5

Linear (Study)

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