ANXIETY, APTITUDE, ATTITUDE, AND ACHIEVEMENT
J.
M.
SASSENRATH
University
of
California, Davis
Many of us who are
or
have been college students remember quite vividly
how apprehensive or worried we were at times before taking college apbitude tests
or course examinations. Many students provide clinical reports that they “blocked-
up” or could not remember or think through the answers to questions or problems
on aptitude tests and course examinations. Furthermore, those readers who have
participated in oral and written qualifying examinations for graduate students
have probably experienced or witnessed a similar type of apprehension with a
commensurate decrement in performance in many instances. This specific type of
apprehension and worry is what psychologists call test anxiety.
Some psychologists distinguish test anxiety from general anxiety (e.g., fear
of dentists, doctors, darkness, high places, stage-fright, snakes, etc.). Therefore,
it
is
not unusual that different kinds of t,ests have been developed to measure these
two presumably different types of anxiety. In fact, Sassenrath, Kight and Kaiser
(1965) showed that the factors constituting test anxiety had very little in common
with those constituting general anxiety. Therefore, it is not surprising to find two
somewhat different theoretical positions
:
one for test anxiety and another for
general anxiety. These two “theorettes” are derivatives of Hullian behavior theory,
and were succintly presented and compared in two previous papers (Sassenrath,
1963; Sassenrath, Kight,
&
Athey, 1964) as they pertain to learning. However,
the concern of this paper is the relationship between anxiety and performance
variables (aptitudes and achievement) rather than actual acquisition variables
(errors or trials in learning).
Irwin Sarason (1960) has reviewed many of the studies relating general anxiety
to intellectual performance and reports largely nonsignificant correlations. On the
other hand, Sarason also indicates that there are several studies which report sig-
nificant but moderate correlations between test anxiety and aptitudes and also
with achievement. Therefore, a brief summary of the “theorette” relating test
anxiety to aptitudes and achievement seems appropriate.
Test anxiety is a response to stimuli which
S
previously has learned are threat-
ening. 1,earned anxiety responses (e.g., nail-biting, perspiring, feelings of inade-
quacy, lack of confidence, etc.) presumably interfere with responses relevant to
completing
a
task confronting
S.
One cannot learn immediately beforehand how
to cope completely with tasks on aptitude tests. Thus, it is hypothesized that the
higher the test anxiety scores, the lower the aptitude test scores. On the other
hand, in class
S
does learn some concepts, facts, etc., and can also learn what the
instructor emphasizes and examines
S
on. Thus,
S
can gain some self-assurance.
With increased self-assurance and information there should be fewer anxiety re-
sponses interfering with task-relevant responses when taking course examinations.
Therefore, since test anxiety presumably has motivating properties, it is hypothe-
sized that the higher the test anxiety score the higher the course examination
scores and grades.
In summary, a negative correlation is predicted between test anxiety and
aptitude test scores. On the other hand, a positive correlation is predicted between
test anxiety and course examination scores
or
grades. Sarason and Mandler (1952)
reported results consistent with these predictions for a selected sample at Yale