| Since testing situations may be very stressful and aversive for students, researchers have investigated the roles that coping strategies, test anxiety, and optimism play in determining outcomes in testing situations. Research has found that lower levels of test anxiety (Seipp, 1991), higher levels of problem-focused coping (Zeidner, 1995) and higher levels of optimism (Lee, Ashford, & Jamieson, 1993) have been associated with higher exam scores. However, research has generally failed to measure students' coping strategies and anxiety levels the day before an exam.; The present study examined some of the factors that contribute to students' reactions and performance in an exam situation. Students enrolled in General Psychology courses completed measures of dispositional coping, test anxiety, optimism, and negative affectivity at the beginning of the semester. Students also completed measures of exam-specific coping and state anxiety the day before a General Psychology exam. As hypothesized, dispositional measures of coping and test anxiety were associated with exam-specific measures of coping and state anxiety associated with the upcoming exam. For women, exam scores were positively correlated with optimism and negatively correlated with test anxiety. For men, exam scores were positively correlated with high school grade-point average. However, no relationship was found between coping strategies and exam scores.; Consistent with prior research, for women, optimism was positively correlated with reflective coping (i.e., problem-focused strategies) and negatively associated with test anxiety and reactive coping (i.e., behaviors that distort coping efforts). For men, optimism was negatively correlated with suppressive coping (i.e., behavioral avoidance). Test anxiety was positively correlated with reactive coping, while state anxiety was positively correlated with suppressive coping. Women reported higher levels of test anxiety and dispositional reactive coping than men. Contrary to prior research, reflective coping was not found to be correlated with test anxiety. The implications for psychological interventions, as well as possible areas for future research, are discussed. |
