Ng, Ee Lynn

This study examined the effect of trait test anxiety versus state anxiety on children's mental arithmetic task performance. Participants (N = 113; 11-year-olds) completed a mental arithmetic and memory recall task under high and low situational stress conditions. State anxiety was assessed using both self-report and physiological (i.e., cortisol) measures. Measures of task accuracy and accuracy/response time served as indicators of performance effectiveness and processing efficiency. The growth modelling approach was used to examine patterns of change in cortisol levels across time. The key finding of this study is that trait test anxiety has a direct and detrimental effect on working memory task performance. This effect was not mediated by state anxiety, regardless of whether the role of trait test anxiety was examined in conjunction with self-reported or physiological state anxiety. Our findings provide further evidence in support of attentional control theory.

This study examined the effects of (a) trait test anxiety versus state anxiety and (b) working memory load on children's mental arithmetic task performance. Participants (N = 128; 11-year-olds) completed a mental arithmetic task at varying levels of working memory load under high and low situational stress conditions. Measures of task accuracy and accuracy/response time served as indicators of performance effectiveness and processing efficiency. The findings showed that trait test anxiety has a direct and detrimental effect on working memory. The effect was not mediated by state test anxiety. We also demonstrated that the adverse effects of trait test anxiety on efficiency are independent of working memory load. However, anxiety-related deficits in effectiveness occur at higher levels of working memory load. Findings are interpreted as being largely consistent with the attentional control theory.