An examination of the self-referent executive processing model of test anxiety: control, emotional regulation, self-handicapping, and examination performance

Abstract

According to the self-referent executive processing (S-REF) model, test anxiety develops from interactions between three systems: executive self-regulation processes, selfbeliefs, and maladaptive situational interactions. Studies have tended to examine one system at a time, often in conjunction with how test anxiety relates to achievement outcomes. The aim of this study was to enable a more thorough test of the S-REF model by examining one key construct from each of these systems simultaneously. These were control (a self-belief construct), emotional regulation through suppression and reappraisal (an executive process), and self-handicapping (a maladaptive situational interaction). Relations were examined from control, emotional regulation, and self-handicapping to cognitive test anxiety (worry), and subsequent examination performance on a high-stakes test. Data were collected from 273 participants in their final year of secondary education. A structural equation model showed that higher control was indirectly related to better examination performance through lower worry, higher reappraisal was indirectly related to worse examination performance through higher worry, and higher self-handicapping was related to worse examination performance through lower control and higher worry. These findings suggest that increasing control and reducing self-handicapping would be key foci for test anxiety interventions to incorporate.

A Structural Equation Model of Achievement Emotions, Coping Strategies and Engagement-Burnout in Undergraduate Students: A Possible Underlying Mechanism in Facets of Perfectionism

“…Positive activating emotions (enjoyment, hope, pride) were reported to be interrelated with metacognitive monitoring processes in multimedia learning tasks, but negative emotions (frustration) and deactivating emotions (boredom) have been shown to negatively predict self-monitoring [31]. Elsewhere, the negative impact of test anxiety has been verified, and potential control mechanisms have been explored [32]. The effect of rumination on university students' negative affect and on their achievement has also been confirmed [33].…”

“…Pekrun [32] went beyond previous conceptualizations [33,34] to classify academic emotions along three axes: their focus, valence, and activation (for an overview, see [35]). The source (focus) of academic or achievement emotions can be either the: (a) activity, relating to ongoing activities involved in achieving, or the (b) outcome, pertaining to concerns about achievement outcomes [25].…”

The Development and Validation of a New Multidimensional Test Anxiety Scale (MTAS)

“…There is also evidence from individual studies for constructs that have not yet been included in metaanalyses that test anxiety is positively correlated with a bias towards threat perception (e.g., Putwain, Langdale, Woods, Nicholson, 2011), messages from teachers about the importance of avoiding failure (e.g., Putwain & Symes, 2011), and parental pressure (e.g., Putwain, Woods, & Symes, 2010). It is a notable limitation of the contemporary test anxiety literature, however, that there are few systematic evaluations of the aforementioned theories (for a notable exception see Putwain, 2018).…”

Effects of Self-Regulation vs. External Regulation on the Factors and Symptoms of Academic Stress in Undergraduate Students

“…Among academic stressors, three main groups can be distinguished: (1) those related to evaluation processes, (2) those related to work overload, and (3) other conditions of the teaching-learning process, such as social relationships (teacher-student and peer relationships), teaching methodology, and various organizational components (inadequate study plans, scheduling problems, overlapping programs, low student participation in organization and decision making, overcrowding, etc.) (González-Cabanach et al, 2016, 2017, 2018. Denovan and Macaskill (2013), in a study that lists 11 potential situations that generate stress and stress symptoms, found that the situations predictive of chronic stress were class participation, required assignments, and test taking.…”