TEST ANXIETY AND POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL STATES DURING AN EXAMINATION

ABSTRACT

 Within the framework of a transactional approach to test anxiety (Spielberger & Vagg, 1995; Zeidner, 1998), the current study examined the relations among trait test anxiety and positive and negative state emotions, comprising prospective (e.g., hope and fear) as well as retrospective emotions (e.g., happiness, disappointment) before and after a high school examination. In line with our hypotheses, test anxiety was related to all state emotions before the examination, but independent of the equivalent states thereafter. Instead, post-examination state emotions were strongly related to congruent states before the examination. Prospective emotions were more strongly related than retrospective ones before the examination, but vice versa thereafter. On both measurement points, concurrent emotions of the same valence (positive vs. negative) were stronger related than states of opposite valence. Implications for further research on the temporal relations between test anxiety and state emotions are discussed.

KEYWORDS: test anxiety, hope, fear, happiness, high school examination, longitudinal study.

PAGES: 431-447