Working Memory Training in Relation to Anxiety, Stress, and Motivation

Abstract

Interventions for improving working memory (WM) can be used to reduce anxiety-related symptoms. Here, we examine how WM training can impact trait anxiety and test anxiety for upcoming examinations, and the role of motivation and the sustainability of training effects were also examined. Volunteers were randomly assigned either to control (non-adaptive dual 1-back training, N = 52) or training group (adaptive dual n-back training, N = 49), who trained for 14 consecutive days right before the midterm exams week. Participants completed measures of trait anxiety, test anxiety, and attentional control before and after the intervention and at follow-up times (1 week and 7 weeks). Participants rated how motivated and accomplished they felt after each daily training session. They also rated their perceived performance success and confidence during the exam week at first follow-up session. Results found that adaptive training compared with the non-adaptive control training resulted in reductions in trait anxiety across time. Additionally, exploratory analyses showed that perceived success in the training task was associated with pre-to-post-intervention reductions in test anxiety. Our findings suggest that WM training has the potential to reduce anxiety and test anxiety-related symptoms under stress and emphasize the role of perceived success.