From left: Dr. Dev Poling, Haley Combs and Laura Michael of Coshocton and Bill Fiore of New Lexington pose in front of Combs, Michael and Fiore's poster display.

Test Anxiety Topic of OUZ Student Research That Wins Award

    Examinations represent one of the most common forms of performance evaluation for college students and a major source of anxiety for many. A group of three Ohio University-Zanesville students, under the direction of Dr. Dev Poling, studied the impact of student anxiety toward test taking, study behavior and student beliefs about whether an upcoming test was going to be easy or hard.

    Fifty-seven participants completed a multiple-choice exam in either a simulated classroom context or a solitary testing context. Participants were also forewarned that the exam was going to be easy or that it was going to be hard. In contrast to previous research, beliefs about test difficulty did not influence test performance. However, testing context and test anxiety did influence student exam performance.

    The students presented their findings at the Ohio University Research and Creative Fair in May and received second place in the Undergraduate Psychology category. More than 470 undergraduate, graduate and medical students and post-doctoral fellows presented their original work at the event, which marked the biggest exhibition of student Ohio University research, scholarship and creative work to date.

    The Student Research and Creative Activity Fair was sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research, the Office of the Provost and the Office of the President at Ohio University.