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Category: Project

Description: Anxiety associated with academic tasks, including test anxiety and math anxiety, creates significant impediments for students to fulfill their potential in classes such as mathematics. Test anxiety has been characterized by intrusive and distracting thoughts, and is also associated with maladaptive study skills, such as procrastination. To combat these behaviors, we introduced two interventions into high school math classrooms: one intervention focused on regulating anxiety using cognitive reappraisal, and the other encouraged students to improve their study habits. Students in the study skills (SS) intervention improved their grades during the intervention quarter, whereas students in the emotion regulation (ER) intervention were unaffected by the intervention. The SS intervention encouraged even the most anxious students to incorporate self-testing and overcome avoidant behaviors, ameliorating the performance deficits associated with increased anxiety. Notably, the SS intervention was most effective for students who habitually engaged in emotion regulation strategies. This strategy results in improved performance, allowing students who are challenged by feelings of anxiety to reach their potential.