Anxiety and performance during tests: the roles of coping and updating

Abstract

It is widely known that test anxiety (TA) is associated with a decrease in test scores. The objective of this study is to provide evidence of the existence of two paths through which TA affects test scores: an indirect path that is associated with the mediation of the updating efficiency and a direct path moderated by the putting into perspective coping strategy. The study was conducted with a sample of 184 high school students who took an entrance exam for a university in Costa Rica. The structural equation modelling related to the theoretical approach was well adjusted, which provided evidence in favour of the hypotheses about the previously mentioned paths. Based on the results, the use of the putting into perspective coping strategy can help people with high TA levels reduce the effect of this emotion in test scores.