MONDAY, MAY 7, 2012
PAGE 14
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Final exam anxiety plagues all students
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For many students, there is a palpable feeling of stress and anxiety in the air around finals time. There may be several reasons for this fear, including the feeling that one is unprepared.
Ruth Atchley, professor of psychology, said not all test anxiety is the same. She said research suggests that chronic academic anxiety might be something different from worries over a specific test. Some students, she said, have a general and persistent fear of failure, a psychological trait that they show in many academic situations such as tests, public speaking, or any time they face an academic challenge.
"This trait is persistent and does not necessarily change," Atchley said. "Even if they are well prepared for an exam or doing well in a course."
The second cause of anxiety is probably a result of a person's specific worry about a specific test.
"Maybe they have not studied enough or they are struggling in a class and so they feel a high degree of anxiety about a specific final." Atchley said.
But Atchley said most students won't be stressed if they have nothing to be stressed about. She also offered some good news about the anxiety itself, and offered some advice on how to help relieve it.
"In the average undergrad population, according to several studies, the overall effect of high anxiety isn't usually all that big." Atchley said. She said anxiety impacts test scores, but the effect usually averages only a few percentage points.
"My best advice is to simply be prepared." Atchley said.
Danya Goodman, a doctoral student of clinical psychology, said there are some simple, commonsense actions students can take to decrease that anxiety, wherever it comes from.
Studying is at the top of the list.
Goodman said studying can help decrease anxiety, even for students who have more on their mind than just the test.
"The best way to decrease anxiety about something is to confront whatever it is that is making you anxious," she said.
Dr. Ketty Wong, an assistant professor of music, said poor study habits throughout the semester were one source of finals stress
"Procrastination's definitely one of them," said Wong. "Students tend to put homework and other projects off and then they end up not knowing the materials. Also, not coming to classes and not knowing the materials can also cause high anxiety."
Goodman said that even for well-prepared students, there are other reasons for stress around finals time. Students have more to do, she said, balancing increased study time with the need to sleep, eat well and, for some students, work a part-time job.
"Sometimes people take finals almost too seriously," Goodman said. "It is important to try your best in school, but is one final going to determine the course of the rest of your life? Hopefully not, but sometimes it can feel that way."
Goodman and Wong said time management was key to preventing a panic at the end of the semester, and that included taking time to relax with friends.
Wong said her advice comes partly from her own experiences.
"When I was a student my finals were stressful," she said. "But they were also an opportunity to realize what all I had learned through the year. It was definitely a huge learning opportunity," she said.
Edited by Ian Cummings
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