COMPUTER ANXIETY, COMPUTER SELF-EFFICACY AND DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES

Abstract

The studies about anxiety are now integrated in a model which describe the computer anxiety as a component of academic anxiety, defined as emotion, behavior and believes which negatively influences learning performance. Some research concerning students or teachers attitudes towards using computers and the Internet has been performed since the eighties in most countries, but there are still few in Romania. This study presents the relationships between computer anxiety and demographic variables. The research participants are the Romanian college and university students, males and females. The employed tools are Computer Anxiety Rating Scale (Heinssen, Glass, & Knight, 1987) and the Computer self-efficacy Scale ( Compeau & Higgins, 1995). The tools employed for measuring the attitude toward computers includes items which directly measure believes about the effects of using the computer for learning. The participants have filed a questionnaire which includes demographic questions. The data has analyzed using different criteria: gender, age, grade, experience with the computer and Internet, marks. Results indicate differences between the anxiety of students according to their program of study, age and gender. Experience in the use of computers is associated with the anxiety level for this type of technology and mediates gender differences. Greater computer anxiety was associated with lower expectations and poorer task performance. High self efficacy is associated with better results in the use of computers, but also with positive beliefs about some benefits of using it. The results can be used by college and university teachers to manage learning situations, especially, in e-environment.