Causes of Test Anxiety
Test Anxiety in Students
What are the causes of test anxiety? College test anxiety is quite common, and, knowing why you have test taking anxiety can help you decide on test anxiety strategies to overcome it. While it is true that every student has some level of anxiety when going into an exam, most students have their anxiety under control and a little stress actually help those students perform better.
However, when test anxiety becomes intense, it can interfere with your ability to perform well on tests, in interviews and other stressful situations.Fortunately, test anxiety is a learned behavior—and it can be unlearned though self hypnosis or by practicing thought stopping exercises.
Test anxiety can affect your ability to learn new information.
Learn how to deal with test anxiety
and do better on exams!
What Causes Test Anxiety?
Causes of Text Anxiety for College Students
Test anxiety can start at any time in your life. I remember a couple of students in my high school class who had test anxiety whenever we had an exam, or even a pop quiz. And there are instances of test anxiety in children, or in adults who develop test anxiety, after the loss of a job.Test anxiety in children can be caused by pressure (from parents and teachers) to do well. Adults see potential in a child and they pressure him to do well. Or, in some cases, a child can put pressure on himself for achieving high grades at school. By the time most people get to college, though, they have played a part in creating stress and test anxiety for themselves. Here are some of the causes of test anxiety for college students: Experience - When a student has had a bad experience—a low test score, a failing grade for a course, a teacher who embarrassed her, or losing a competition—she can recall the feelings associated with the bad experience. Sometimes a student will replay the disappointment and feelings. Lack of self-confidence and low self-esteem - Some students convince themselves that they are not as qualified as other students, that they have not prepared as well as others, or that they won’t be able to answer the questions or solve the problems on a test. Pressure from others - While we assume that college students are independent and think on their own, they are still influenced by what others will think of them. In many cases, this is a parent or parents, but the pressure could come from a significant other as well. Pressure from oneself - Bright, intelligent students are often self-motivated, and they often put pressure on themselves to succeed. In addition, many students have the pressure of trying to perform as well as an older, successful brother or sister. Negative thinking - Some students work overtime as soon as an exam is scheduled, thinking negative thoughts about themselves. Students may use negative self-talk to convince themselves that a bad experience is bound to happen again… Things like: - I haven’t studied enough this semester.
I’ll never be prepared for the exam in time. Everyone else is smarter than me. The professor is harder on me than anyone else. I will fail the exam. I will fail the course. Everyone will know that I am a loser. I"ll never get a job. I’ll sleep too late and miss the exam.
And the list goes on…One way to combat college test anxiety, is to use
self-hypnosis to change your thought patterns
. While thought stopping and changing your self-talk does not happen overnight, many people have had great success at controlling their stress levels during exam times by using self-hypnosis. In addition, some students find it helpful to take a safe, natural homeopathic product like A+ Test Calmer which promotes calmness and confidence before and during tests--without sacrificing mental alertness. Linking personal worth to grades - Just as many adults link personal worth to their jobs, many students feel that they must succeed in college to be worthy. The pressure to succeed causes college stress and test anxiety. Lack of control - When a student feels panicked about upcoming exams, he can feel out of control. Feeling out of control is another of the causes of test anxiety--and it just adds more stress to a student’s test anxiety. Time pressure - Some students tend to worry about finishing at timed test on time. Even bright students who know the material can convince themselves that they won’t finish on time.
The causes of test anxiety are varied, and test taking anxiety can occur at any age. The important things to remember are that, test anxiety in students is not a mental illness and it can be reduced. And any student, well prepared or not, highly intelligent or not, including students that complete every assignment, read every book or article and study faithfully—can be affected by test taking anxiety! Some level of stress is healthy and it helps you stay motivated, but, if your stress levels rise to where you are being affected in your ability to do well on tests, it’s time to take action to reduce your college test anxiety!
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