The field experiment presented here applied a stress regulation technique to optimize affective and neuroendocrine responses and improve academic and psychological outcomes in an evaluative academic context. Community college students (N = 339) were randomly assigned to stress reappraisal or active control conditions immediately before taking their second in-class exam. Whereas stress is typically perceived as having negative effects, stress reappraisal informs individuals about the functional benefits of stress and is hypothesized to reduce threat appraisals, and subsequently, improve downstream outcomes. Multilevel models indicated that compared with controls, reappraising stress led to less math evaluation anxiety, lower threat appraisals, more adaptive neuroendocrine responses (lower cortisol and higher testosterone levels on testing days relative to baseline), and higher scores on Exam 2 and on a subsequent Exam 3. Reappraisal students also persisted in their courses at a higher rate than controls. Targeted mediation models suggested stress appraisals partially mediated effects of reappraisal. Notably, procrastination and performance approach goals (measured between exams) partially mediated lagged effects of reappraisal on subsequent performance. Implications for the stress, emotion regulation, and mindsets literatures are discussed. Moreover, alleviating negative effects of acute stress in community college students, a substantial but understudied population, has potentially important applied implications.

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Mathematics anxiety is a major impediment to achievement in mathematics and science academic domains. Although important steps have been made in understanding the psychological processes of mathematics anxiety, as well as developing promising interventions, less is known about the relationship among mathematics anxiety, affective and biological responses, and achievement in stressful performance contexts. Toward this end, the research presented here recruited community college students (N ϭ 478) from 30 mathematics classrooms, and examined associations among mathematics anxiety, stress appraisals, neuroendocrine reactivity (cortisol and testosterone), and exam scores. Higher levels of mathematics anxiety associated with students perceiving more demand and fewer coping resources in exam settings, lower levels of testosterone on exam days relative to baseline, and worse exam performance. Moreover, associations among mathematics anxiety, and neuroendocrine reactivity and performance were partially mediated by stress appraisals. Implications for student achievement, wellbeing, and intervention development are discussed. Educational Impact and Implications StatementThis research examined associations among mathematics anxiety, stress processes, and classroom performance in community college students. Higher levels of mathematics anxiety predicted more negative stress responses and lower exam scores. This research highlights how psychological factors associate with biological functioning and objective academic outcomes in an understudied population.

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