ANXIETY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Anxiety and Academic Performance in College Students

Jigna Patel
Montclair State University
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ANXIETY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Abstract
This study investigates the effects of anxiety on academic performance in college students. t is
believed there is a strong correlation bet!een the t!o variables. f a student is very anxious
before ta"ing an examine# they !ill do more poorly than a student !ho is not as anxious. $ifty
male and female college students from Montclair State University !ere chosen at random for this
study. Students !ere re%uired to complete a online survey rating their level of anxiousness and
!ere also as"ed to report their test scores upon completion of the exam. &esults sho!ed that
there is a very strong negative correlation bet!een anxiety and academic performance.
Therefore# the t!o variables !ere found to be strongly correlated.
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ANXIETY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Anxiety and Academic Performance in College Students
Psychological concerns !ith the prediction of individual performance# in recent years#
have brought up many %uestions including !hat factors come into play in a student's
performance in ta"ing an exam (Sarason# )*+,-. The purpose of studying the correlation
bet!een a factor such as anxiety and academic performance is to examine the role of anxiety on
an individual's performance in class. Studies relating anxiety to academic performance in
college students have generally reported that anxiety is very significantly associated !ith student
grade point averages (Culler# .olahan# )*/0-. This study !ill sho! a very strong negative
correlation bet!een the t!o variables. Anxiety ratings and levels !ill be directly correlated to
ho! !ell the college students !ill performance on the exam given. A negative correlation !ill
simply mean if anxiety levels are high# test scores !ill be lo!1 or if anxiety levels are lo!# test
scores !ill be high. 2no!ing such relationship !ill help future researchers develop !ays to help
students to be less anxious so their academic performance does not suffer.
Method
Participants. Participants !ho !ill serve in this experiment !ill be students from Montclair
State University chosen according to random sampling. There !ill fifty male and female
students ranging in age from )/ to 34 years old. 5o particular ma6or is preferred. Participants
!ill be compensated 7)0. All sub6ects !ill be tested individually.
Materials. Participants !ill be administered a one page survey including ten %uestions regarding
their mood and nervousness or anxiety before ta"ing an exam. They !ill also be as"ed to rate
their anxiety on a scale from ) to )0. Survey !ill be given one8hour prior examinations. 9xam
scores !ill be recorded upon completion of examinations.
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ANXIETY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Apparatus: All participants !ill be given an account to sign in and complete the survey via
computer. Participants must log bac" in to record their exam scores.
Design: This study !ill examine the relationship bet!een anxiety and academic performance on
a particular exam. The independent variable !ill be anxiety1 the dependent variable !ill be
stress.
Procedure. The +0 sub6ects !ill be randomly chosen to on campus to participant in this study.
Participation !ill be entirely voluntary and sub6ects !ill be allo!ed to forfeit the study at any
time. :nce the sub6ects are chosen# they !ill be as"ed to meet in room U5)044 !here they !ill
be given instructions on ho! this study !ill !or" and !hat they !ill need to do. All sub6ects
!ill then be given their o!n account login and pass!ord# !hich is ho! they !ill access this
survey and also record their results. They !ill also be re%uired to ma"e sure to complete the
survey one hour prior to their exam time for their survey to be valid and useful in this study.
Sub6ects !ill also be re%uired to rate their anxiety on a scale from ) to )0. These ratings and the
sub6ect's test scores !ill be used in calculating the Pearson Correlation Coefficient# !hich !ill
sho! the correlation bet!een anxiety and academic performance.
&esults
Anxiety; <ased on !hat the sub6ects rated their anxiety level# the average !ill be calculated. An
average + or belo! !ill indicate lo! anxiety. An average of + or above !ill sho! high anxiety
level. $or this study# the average anxiety level !ill be /.3+.
Academic Performance. An average of +0= or belo! !ill indicate lo! academic performance.
An average of +0= or above !ill sho! high academic performance. $or this study# the average
academic performance !as >0=.
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ANXIETY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
<ased on the given data and data collected# the Pearson Correlation Coefficient !ill also
be calculated to determine the correlation bet!een the t!o variables. A coefficient of ?ero sho!s
no correlation bet!een the t!o variables. A correlation of ) sho!s strong or perfect positive
correlation1 and a correlation of 8) !ill indicate a strong or perfect negative correlation. n this
study# the Pearson correlation coefficient !ill be 8.,0# !hich means the higher the anxiety# the
lo!er the academic performance. f students are more anxious# there is a very high chance that
they !ill do poorly on their exams.
@iscussion
The purpose of this study is to extinguish the role of anxiety on individual's academic
performance. Anxiety is a very significantly associated !ith ho! a student does !hen test ta"ing
and definitely plays a role in grade point averages (Culler# .olahan# )*/0-. This study !ill sho!
a very strong negative correlation bet!een the t!o variables. The correlation !ill be negative
!hich means# as anxiety levels are high# test scores !ill be lo!. nversely# !hen anxiety levels
are lo!# test scores !ill be high. There are# ho!ever# several limitations that may have affected
this study. $actors such as time spent studying and the amount of sleep can all play a ma6or role
in a individual's academic performance. $or example# !hen a student spends more time study# it
!ill lead to less anxiety# thus resulting in better grades and performance. Sleep can also be a
huge factor in individual performance. f a student sleeps !ell before an exam# they !ill be less
tired resulting in less anxiety# thus giving them better scores !hen test ta"ing. $ollo! up studies
for this research should involve creating different groups (sub6ects !ho spend efficient amount of
time studying vs. sub6ects !ho do not- and (sub6ects !ho receive a good amount of sleep vs.
sub6ects !ho do not-. This !ill help researchers understand that there may be multiple variables
that affect an individual's academic performance and all variables should be considered.
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ANXIETY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
&eferences
Chapell# M. S.# <landing# A.# Silverstein# M. 9.# Ta"ahashi# M.# 5e!man# <.# Bubi# A.# C
McCann# 5. (300+-. Test Anxiety and Academic Performance in Undergraduate and
Braduate Students. Journal Of Educational Psychology# 97(3-# 3D/83,>.
Culler# &. 9.# C .olahan# C. J. ()*/0-. Test anxiety and academic performance; The effects of
study8related behaviors. Journal Of Educational Psychology# 7()-# )D830.
Sarason# . B. ()*+,-. Test anxiety# general anxiety# and intellectual performance. Journal Of
!onsulting Psychology# "(D-# >/+8>*0.
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