title: Statistics anxiety, state anxiety during an examination, and academic achievement.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A large proportion of students identify statistics courses as the most anxiety-inducing courses in their curriculum. Many students feel impaired by feelings of state anxiety in the examination and therefore probably show lower achievements.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The study investigates how statistics anxiety, attitudes (e.g., interest, mathematical self-concept) and trait anxiety, as a general disposition to anxiety, influence experiences of anxiety as well as achievement in an examination.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 284 undergraduate psychology students, 225 females and 59 males.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two weeks prior to the examination, participants completed a demographic questionnaire and measures of the STARS, the STAI, self-concept in mathematics, and interest in statistics. At the beginning of the statistics examination, students assessed their present state anxiety by the KUSTA scale. After 25 min, all examination participants gave another assessment of their anxiety at that moment. Students' examination scores were recorded. Structural equation modelling techniques were used to test relationships between the variables in a multivariate context.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Statistics anxiety was the only variable related to state anxiety in the examination. Via state anxiety experienced before and during the examination, statistics anxiety had a negative influence on achievement. However, statistics anxiety also had a direct positive influence on achievement. This result may be explained by students' motivational goals in the specific educational setting.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results provide insight into the relationship between students' attitudes, dispositions, experiences of anxiety in the examination, and academic achievement, and give recommendations to instructors on how to support students prior to and in the examination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Educational Psychology Unit, Karl-Franzens University, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Macher
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paechter
authors.forename: Ilona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Papousek
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ruggeri
authors.forename: H Harald
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Freudenthaler
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arendasy
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D001290:Attitude; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D012649:Self Concept; D013223:Statistics as Topic / Q000193:education*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D058013:Test Taking Skills / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult