Children's task performance under stress and non-stress conditions: A test of the processing efficiency theory

Abstract

The effects of test anxiety on children's task performance are not well understood. We examined this issue using the processing efficiency theory (PET; Eysenck & Calvo, 1992) as a theoretical framework. High and low trait test-anxious children (N=90) performed a mental-arithmetic task under high and low memory load conditions. Each child performed the task under stressful and non-stressful conditions. Measures of task accuracy and reaction time served as indicators of performance effectiveness and processing efficiency, respectively. Consistent with the PET, processing efficiency, but not performance effectiveness, was detrimentally affected by test anxiety. However, we did not find support for the PET's assumption that state anxiety mediates the test anxiety–task performance relationship. The roles of task demands on working memory (WM) capacity and individual differences in WM capacity as moderators of the relationship between test anxiety and task performance is also discussed.

Keywords:

• Attentional control
• Working memory
• Test anxiety
• State anxiety
• Mathematics achievement

Acknowledgements

The research presented in this paper is based on the first author's doctoral dissertation. Earlier analyses of the data were presented at the biennial meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development in July 2008. This research was supported by grants from the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice and the Pradap Kow Foundation.