Examining attentional control deficits in adolescents with test anxiety: An evidential synthesis using self-report, behavioral, and resting-state EEG measures
Attentional control theory suggests that test anxiety hinders individuals' attentional control, aiding our understanding of how test anxiety may impair cognitive function. However, various methods used to assess attentional control have yielded inconsistent findings. Moreover, past studies, esp...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-06-01
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| Series: | Acta Psychologica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691824001343 |
| _version_ | 1831888964890394624 |
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| author | Hua Wei Jiali Sun |
| author_facet | Hua Wei Jiali Sun |
| author_sort | Hua Wei |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Attentional control theory suggests that test anxiety hinders individuals' attentional control, aiding our understanding of how test anxiety may impair cognitive function. However, various methods used to assess attentional control have yielded inconsistent findings. Moreover, past studies, especially on adolescents, that examine the distinct impacts of worry and the emotional components of test anxiety on individuals' attentional control capacity are scarce. This study, using self-report, behavioral, and resting-state EEG measures, explores how worry and emotionality, impact attentional control in adolescents. It enhances our understanding of the link between test anxiety and cognitive function. Referring to the effect size from prior studies, a total of 42 adolescents took part in the study. We used the Test Anxiety Inventory, due to it can assess worry and emotionality components. We employed three widely-utilized measures of attentional control: the Attentional Control Scale (ACS), the Go/Nogo task, and resting-state electroencephalography measures (alpha oscillation and the theta/beta power ratio). Both worry and emotionality components were significantly and negatively correlated with the ACS scores. Unlike worry, emotionality demonstrated a significant positive correlation with response times for the Go trials and alpha power in the parietal cortex. These results suggest that, emotionality, but not worry, is highly correlated with attentional control deficits in adolescents. This study underscores the significance of distinguishing between the components of test anxiety, which aids in comprehending the negative impacts of test anxiety on adolescents' academic performance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T11:22:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6375e847e2914e5ca1a08ce92f2834a3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0001-6918 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-22T00:26:34Z |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Psychologica |
| spelling | doaj.art-6375e847e2914e5ca1a08ce92f2834a32024-05-15T04:21:21ZengElsevierActa Psychologica0001-69182024-06-01246104257Examining attentional control deficits in adolescents with test anxiety: An evidential synthesis using self-report, behavioral, and resting-state EEG measuresHua Wei0Jiali Sun1Corresponding author at: Department of Psychology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, 99 Xuefu Road, Huqiu District, Suzhou 215000, Jiangsu, China.; Department of Psychology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, Jiangsu, ChinaDepartment of Psychology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, Jiangsu, ChinaAttentional control theory suggests that test anxiety hinders individuals' attentional control, aiding our understanding of how test anxiety may impair cognitive function. However, various methods used to assess attentional control have yielded inconsistent findings. Moreover, past studies, especially on adolescents, that examine the distinct impacts of worry and the emotional components of test anxiety on individuals' attentional control capacity are scarce. This study, using self-report, behavioral, and resting-state EEG measures, explores how worry and emotionality, impact attentional control in adolescents. It enhances our understanding of the link between test anxiety and cognitive function. Referring to the effect size from prior studies, a total of 42 adolescents took part in the study. We used the Test Anxiety Inventory, due to it can assess worry and emotionality components. We employed three widely-utilized measures of attentional control: the Attentional Control Scale (ACS), the Go/Nogo task, and resting-state electroencephalography measures (alpha oscillation and the theta/beta power ratio). Both worry and emotionality components were significantly and negatively correlated with the ACS scores. Unlike worry, emotionality demonstrated a significant positive correlation with response times for the Go trials and alpha power in the parietal cortex. These results suggest that, emotionality, but not worry, is highly correlated with attentional control deficits in adolescents. This study underscores the significance of distinguishing between the components of test anxiety, which aids in comprehending the negative impacts of test anxiety on adolescents' academic performance.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691824001343Test anxietyEmotionalityAttentional control deficitAdolescentGo/Nogo taskResting-state EEG |
| spellingShingle | Hua Wei Jiali Sun Examining attentional control deficits in adolescents with test anxiety: An evidential synthesis using self-report, behavioral, and resting-state EEG measures Acta Psychologica Test anxiety Emotionality Attentional control deficit Adolescent Go/Nogo task Resting-state EEG |
| title | Examining attentional control deficits in adolescents with test anxiety: An evidential synthesis using self-report, behavioral, and resting-state EEG measures |
| title_full | Examining attentional control deficits in adolescents with test anxiety: An evidential synthesis using self-report, behavioral, and resting-state EEG measures |
| title_fullStr | Examining attentional control deficits in adolescents with test anxiety: An evidential synthesis using self-report, behavioral, and resting-state EEG measures |
| title_full_unstemmed | Examining attentional control deficits in adolescents with test anxiety: An evidential synthesis using self-report, behavioral, and resting-state EEG measures |
| title_short | Examining attentional control deficits in adolescents with test anxiety: An evidential synthesis using self-report, behavioral, and resting-state EEG measures |
| title_sort | examining attentional control deficits in adolescents with test anxiety an evidential synthesis using self report behavioral and resting state eeg measures |
| topic | Test anxiety Emotionality Attentional control deficit Adolescent Go/Nogo task Resting-state EEG |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691824001343 |
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