Abstract
The present study examined the effectiveness of daily mindful breathing practices on test anxiety of university students. A total of 36 participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a training mindful breathing condition (n = 12), a training cognitive reappraisal condition (contrast group, n = 12), and a non-training condition (control group, n = 12). Each of the participants trained by themselves for 6 days after they had taken one session of education for mindful or cognitive reappraisal practices. They wrote their experiences on daily worksheets and sent it by mobile with taking pictures that were confirmed by the researcher. Before and after training, each of the participants completed a questionnaire to assess: test anxiety, positive thought, and positive affect. The results of the study showed that both mindful breathing practice and cognitive reappraisal practice yielded large effect sizes in reducing test anxiety. In addition, the mindful breathing condition scored significantly higher on positive thoughts than the cognitive reappraisal and control conditions. The findings of this study suggest that both daily mindful breathing and cognitive reappraisal practices were effective in reducing test anxiety; however, mindful breathing increased positive automatic thoughts to a greater extent than cognitive reappraisal.
Highlights
Test taking begins in childhood and extends to late adulthood
The findings of this study suggest that both daily mindful breathing and cognitive reappraisal practices were effective in reducing test anxiety; mindful breathing increased positive automatic thoughts to a greater extent than cognitive reappraisal
The groups did not differ on Revised Test Anxiety (RTA) score, F [2, 33] = .51, p = .61 or Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-Positive (ATQ-P) score, F [2, 33] = .08, p = .92 and PANAS score, F [2, 33] = .57, p =
Summary
Test taking begins in childhood and extends to late adulthood. Even if a child develops significant anxiety surrounding tests, they are compulsory, and this can lead to a great deal of distress. Test anxiety has a negative impact on learning, is a major cause for underachievement, and prevents some students from reaching their academic potential [1]. It has been reported that test anxiety caused students to experience impaired emotional working memory capacity [2], which is correlated negatively with test performance [3]. If people with test anxiety are not able to effectively deal with this problem, their academic work suffers and they are at risk for developing anxiety disorders. Students who have high levels of test anxiety need to prevent themselves from developing anxiety disorders. There has been reported a little of evidence-based therapy in reducing test anxiety, even though test anxiety can impair deeply academic performance and well-being. According to cognitive models of anxiety and PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0164822 October 20, 2016
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