title: Higher Self-Control Capacity Predicts Lower Anxiety-Impaired Cognition during Math Examinations.
abstract: We assumed that self-control capacity, self-efficacy, and self-esteem would enable students to keep attentional control during tests. Therefore, we hypothesized that the three personality traits would be negatively related to anxiety-impaired cognition during math examinations. Secondary school students (N = 158) completed measures of self-control capacity, self-efficacy, and self-esteem at the beginning of the school year. Five months later, anxiety-impaired cognition during math examinations was assessed. Higher self-control capacity, but neither self-efficacy nor self-esteem, predicted lower anxiety-impaired cognition 5 months later, over and above baseline anxiety-impaired cognition. Moreover, self-control capacity was indirectly related to math grades via anxiety-impaired cognition. The findings suggest that improving self-control capacity may enable students to deal with anxiety-related problems during school tests.
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Psychology, Institute of Educational Science, University of Bern Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bertrams
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Florida State University Tallahassee, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Roy F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Baumeister
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Psychology, Institute of Educational Science, University of Bern Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Englert
keywords: anxiety; math performance; self-control; self-efficacy; self-esteem