States of Mind and Academic Performance

• In Event: 56.048 - Cognitive and Noncognitive Assessment

Abstract

Affect plays an important role in the learning process. While most research focuses on improving student performance on high-stakes tests from cognitive approaches, little has been paid to improving student performance on tests by inducing positive mood to reduce test-anxiety. The study examined effects of mood intervention states of mind (defined as a ratio of positive and negative self-thoughts), and the effects of the intervention on performance on a high-stakes test. Descriptive statistics indicate that participants who read positive toned letters had the lowest level of test anxiety, were nearest to the absolute distance to the ideal states of mind ratio of positive thoughts among all thoughts, and the best performance on the mathematics test.

Author

• Colleen Pinar, Independent Researcher