The Effectiveness of Emotional Freedom Techniques for Optimal Test Performance

Abstract

Test anxiety causes, effects, and interventions have been widely studied. This study seeks to determine the effi cacy of a single brief intervention—Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)—to support participants’ ability to shift attention appropriately to achieve optimal levels of both test anxiety and test performance. The initial sample consisted of 168 undergraduates from 3 universities in the inland Northwest United States, who were randomly assigned to 3 different groups. Group 1 learned EFT, Group 2 learned Diaphragmatic Breathing (DB), and Group 3 served as a no-treatment control. Participants in the 2 experimental groups received two 2-hr lessons. The Sarason Reactions to Tests, Symptom Assessment-45 Questionnaire, and Westside Test Anxiety Scale instruments, as well as a 5-item self-care questionnaire and a request for a qualitative list of individual, test-related concerns, were administered as preand posttreatment measures, with a second follow-up at the end of the semester. Subsequent analyses of variance revealed signifi cant improvements in both the DB and EFT groups on most measures, with gains maintained on follow-up.