The alleviation of test anxiety by systematic desensitization

Abstract

Twenty-eight test anxious Ss were randomly assigned to a relaxation group, a visual imagery group, and a systematic desensitization group in order to determine the relative effectiveness of each treatment in alleviating test anxiety. Following treatment, significant reductions in self-reported anxiety as determined by pre- and post-Test Anxiety Questionnaire (TAQ) scores occurred only for the systematic desensitization group. An analysis of the number of subjects per group showing reductions in TAQ score further supported the hypothesis that self-reported test-anxiety reduction occurs more reliably when both components of systematic desensitization are present. However, when the three groups were compared directly, only the visual imagery group was found to differ significantly from the systematic desensitization group, suggesting that relaxation alone may not be a totally ineffective treatment procedure. Results obtained with a second index of anxiety-reduction, performance on an anagram solution task, were not consistent with the self-report data.