Coping imagery and relaxation instructions in a covert modeling treatment for test anxiety

Abstract

The present study compared the efficacy of instructing test-anxious subjects to use personalized coping imagery based on nonacademic experiences of competence with coping imagery based on academic experiences of competence. The effect of relaxation was also examined and the relationship of imagery elaborateness and content to treatment effectiveness was assessed. Sixty-three subjects were randomly assigned to one of four treatments or a waiting list control group. Test anxiety as measured by self-report instruments significantly decreased in all treatment groups. Improvement in grade point average occurred for all treatment groups except for academic coping imagery without relaxation which was also the least efficient treatment. The waiting list control group significantly deteriorated in academic performance. Relaxation training did not appear to enhance treatment effectiveness or influence the elaborateness or content of the imagery used. Test anxiety scenes elicited highly response-oriented images by all subjects. However, the stimulus/response content of the subjects' images was not influenced by treatment outcome. In contrast, successful treatment was primarily associated with reduction in negative coping imagery descriptions, although an increase in positive coping statements occurred as well.