A COMPARISON OF TRAINING-PROGRAMS INTENDED FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF TEST-ANXIOUS STUDENTS - FURTHER SUPPORT FOR AN INFORMATION-PROCESSING MODEL

The purpose of this study is to further investigate the suggestion made by Naveh-Benjamin, McKeachie, and Lin (1987) regarding the distinction between two types of high test-anxious students who can be differentiated by their information-processing skills. The first type consists of students with good study habits who have difficulties mostly in retrieval for a test. The second type consists of students with poor study habits who have problems in all stages of processing. Each of the 84 high test-anxious university students was subjected to either desensitization or study skills training. Results showed desensitization to be more beneficial for those high test-anxious students with problems in retrieval, probably by reducing interfering thoughts assumed to block retrieval. Study skills training benefited more those high test-anxious students with problems in all stages of information processing, probably by allowing them to better learn the information.