A Further Test of the Inverted-U Hypothesis Relating Achievement Anxiety and Academic Test Performance
- 1 January 1975
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in The Journal of Psychology
- Vol. 89 (1) , 39-47
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.1975.9923904
Abstract
The assumption that the inverted-U hypothesis, which shows performance as a function of activation level, mediates the relationship between achievement anxiety and academic test performance was tested by comparing Achievement Anxiety Test scores of 75 male and female college students with a self-report measure of activation taken prior to a classroom examination. Results supported the predicted relationship between achievement anxiety reaction type and academic performance (p < .05), but only partially supported the inverted-U hypothesis posited to account for this relationship. Results were further interpreted as suggesting that examinees experience two general types of arousal in the testing situation—one type that enhances performance and one that impedes performance. Further implications of the results were discussed.Keywords
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