Effects of an inquiry-based short intervention on state test anxiety in comparison to alternative coping strategies

Background and Objectives: Test anxiety can have undesirable consequences for learning and academic achievement. The control-value theory of achievement emotions assumes that test anxiety is experienced if a student appraises an achievement situation as important (value appraisal), but feels that the situation and its outcome are not fully under his or her control (control appraisal). Accordingly, modification of cognitive appraisals is assumed to reduce test anxiety. One method aiming at the modification of appraisals is inquiry-based stress reduction. In the present study (N = 162), we assessed the effects of an inquiry-based short intervention on test anxiety. Design: Short-term longitudinal, randomized control trial. Methods: Focusing on an individual worry thought, 53 university students received an inquiry-based short intervention. Control participants reflected on their worry thought (n = 55) or were distracted (n = 52). Thought related test anxiety was assessed before, immediately after, and 2 days after the experimental treatment. Results: After the intervention as well as 2 days later, individuals who had received the inquiry-based intervention demonstrated significantly lower test anxiety than participants from the pooled control groups. Further analyses showed that the inquiry-based short intervention was more effective than reflecting on a worry thought but had no advantage over distraction. Conclusions: Our findings provide first experimental evidence for the effectiveness of an inquiry-based short intervention in reducing students’ test anxiety

Reduction of chronic stress and trait anxiety by inquiry of cognitive appraisals with the Inquiry-Based Stress Reduction (IBSR) method

Background: Chronic stress and anxiety can impair individuals’ health. Appraisal theories assume that stress and anxiety are experienced if individuals appraise a situation as threatening for their well-being. Thus, the modification of cognitive appraisals can be expected to reduce stress and anxiety. A potentially effective method to modify individuals’ appraisals is inquiry-based stress reduction (IBSR; Mitchell & Mitchell, 2003). Aims: The present study assesses the effects of IBSR on chronic stress and trait anxiety in comparison to a matched control group. Method: We used a quasi-experimental repeated- measurement design and a non-clinical sample of N = 199. Participants’ chronic stress and anxiety levels were assessed before and three months after a nine-day IBSR training. To account for the consequences of missing randomization, propensity score matching was applied. Results: As expected, data analyses revealed that in the IBSR training group chronic stress and trait anxiety statistically significantly decreased over the course of three months whereas in the matched control group, the levels of chronic stress and trait anxiety did not statistically significantly change. Conclusions: IBSR seems to effectively reduce trait anxiety and chronic stress in a non-clinical sample

Corrigendum: Effects of an Inquiry-Based Short Intervention on State Test Anxiety in Comparison to Alternative Coping Strategies

In the original article, there was a mistake in Figure 1 and Figure 2 as published. The coefficients for the effects of the experimental intervention condition on thought related test anxiety were mistakenly reported as negative even though the coefficients for these effects are positive. The original article has been updated

How to reduce test anxiety and academic procrastination through inquiry of cognitive appraisals: A pilot study investigating the role of academic self-efficacy

Background and Objectives: Test anxiety can impair learning motivation and lead to procrastination. Control-value theory of achievement emotions (Pekrun, 2006) assumes test anxiety to be a result of students’ appraisals of the testing situation and its outcomes. Modification of cognitive appraisals such as low self-efficacy beliefs is thus assumed to reduce test anxiety and subsequent procrastination. In the present study, we tested the effects of an inquiry-based stress reduction (IBSR) intervention on students’ academic self-efficacy, their test anxiety, and subsequent procrastination in the final stages of an academic term. Design: Longitudinal quasi-randomized intervention control trial. Methods: University students identified worry thoughts regarding a specific and frightening testing situation. Intervention participants (n = 40) explored their worry thoughts with the IBSR method. Participants of an active waitlist control group (n = 31) received the intervention after the study was completed. Dependent variables were assessed before and after the intervention as well as at the end of the term. Results: Data-analyses revealed that the IBSR intervention reduced test anxiety as well as subsequent academic procrastination in comparison to the control group. The effect on test anxiety was partly due to an enhancement of self-efficacy. Conclusion: Our findings provide preliminary evidence that IBSR might help individuals to cope with their test anxiety and procrastination

Correlates of the Intention to Reduce Meat Consumption

Meat consumption significantly contributes to environmental damage. Thus, a reduction in meat consumption can be regarded as sustainable behavior. Based on the assumptions of the theory of planned behavior, we examined the predictive power of individuals’ attitudes, their subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control for their intention to reduce domestic meat consumption. We assessed respective variables in a sample of 256 university students (2015) and 231 employees and university students (2017). Regression analyses revealed that the attitude toward reducing one’s own meat consumption was strongly related to the corresponding intention. Furthermore, the subjective norm predicted one’s intention to eat less meat, whereas perceived behavioral control did not. Results were similar across both samples (2015 and 2017). The findings imply that sustainable meat consumption is most likely to be achieved by a change in consumers’ attitudes

Reduktion von Prüfungsangst durch das Hinterfragen angsterzeugender Kognitionen - Eine Untersuchung der Wirksamkeit der Inquiry-Based Stress Reduction Methode

Prüfungsangst liegt vor, wenn Personen in einer Bewertungssituation, die sie als bedrohlich für den eigenen Selbstwert wahrnehmen, Besorgnis und Aufgeregtheit verspüren (Schwarzer, 2000). Sie tritt häufig auf. So leiden etwa 20 Prozent aller deutschsprachigen Kinder und Jugendlichen an Prüfungsangst (Döpfner, Schnabel, Goletz & Ollendick, 2006). Bei Studierenden werden sogar Prävalenzraten von bis zu 41 Prozent berichtet (Fehm & Fydrich, 2011). Dies ist bedenk-lich, da Prüfungsangst negative Konsequenzen für das Wohlbefinden und die akademische Leis-tung der Betroffenen haben kann (z. B. Steinmayr, Crede, McElvany, & Wirthwein, 2016). Dies lässt sich unter anderem damit erklären, dass die Betroffenen im Umgang mit ihrer Prüfungs-angst oft dysfunktionale Coping-Strategien wählen, etwa indem sie das Lernen für die Prüfung aufschieben und prokrastinieren (Yerdelen, McCaffrey, & Klassen, 2016). Solche Strategien helfen jedoch allenfalls kurzfristig. Eine langfristige Reduktion von Prüfungsangst kann dagegen erreicht werden, wenn man an den Ursachen der Prüfungsangst – den kognitiven Wert- und Kontroll-Appraisals der Betroffenen (Pekrun, 2006) – ansetzt. Eine Veränderung solcher Ap-praisals ist aus theoretischer Sicht am nachhaltigsten, wenn man die den Appraisals zugrundelie-genden generalisierten Überzeugungen nicht nur auf rationaler Ebene hinterfragt, sondern dem Betroffenen auch korrigierende Erfahrungen ermöglicht (Epstein, 1994; 2003; Epstein & Pacini, 1999). Eine praktische Methode, die diesen Ansatz verfolgt, ist Inquiry-Based Stress Reduction (IBSR; Mitchell & Mitchell, 2003). Bisherige Studien zeigen unter anderem, dass Teilnehmer und Teilnehmerinnen von IBSR Interventionen nach der Teilnahme weniger Angst empfinden als vor der Intervention (z. B. Smernoff, Mitnik, & Lev-ari, 2019). Diese Studien zur IBSR-Methode weisen jedoch wesentliche Limitationen auf, welche die Interpretierbarkeit der Ergeb-nisse erschweren. Zudem existieren bisher noch keine Studien, welche die Wirksamkeit der IBSR-Methode zur Reduktion von Prüfungsangst untersuchen. Die vorliegenden drei Interventi-onsstudien schließen diese Lücke unter Berücksichtigung der Limitationen bisheriger Forschung zur IBSR-Methode. Studie 1 des vorliegenden Forschungsprogramms repliziert zu diesem Zweck die Befunde bisheriger Studien zur IBSR-Methode mithilfe eines längsschnittlichen quasi-experimentellen Designs und zeigt, dass eine 9-tägige IBSR-Intervention geeignet ist, Trait-Angst längerfristig zu reduzieren. Studie 2 zeigt mithilfe eines längsschnittlichen experimentellen De-signs, dass Studierende von einer 20-minütigen IBSR-Intervention mehr profitierten, als Studie-rende, die ihre angsterzeugenden Gedanken ausführlich reflektierten. Allerdings hatten jene Stu-dierenden, die an der Intervention teilnahmen, keinen Vorteil gegenüber Studierenden, die sich von ihren angsterzeugenden Gedanken ablenkten. Studie 3 des vorliegenden Forschungspro-gramms untersucht daher mit einem längsschnittlichen experimentellen Design, ob eine 3-stündige IBSR-Intervention Studierenden, die unter Prüfungsangst und Prokrastination leiden, im letzten Abschnitt eines akademischen Semesters helfen kann. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die IBSR-Methode geeignet ist, die Selbstwirksamkeit Studierender zu steigern, wodurch sich auch deren Prüfungsangst reduzieren lässt. Außerdem scheint die IBSR-Methode prokrastinierenden Studierenden eine alternative Coping-Strategie an die Hand zu geben, um mit ihrer Prüfungs-angst umzugehen. Die Diskussion der Ergebnisse des vorliegenden Forschungsprogramms lässt darauf schließen, dass die IBSR-Methode geeignet ist, Studierenden im Umgang mit ihrer Prü-fungsangst und Prokrastination zu helfen. Zukünftige Forschung sollte sich insbesondere der Frage widmen, welche Mechanismen die IBSR-Methode wirksam machen, und ob es Personen-gruppen gibt, die aufgrund ihrer persönlichen Dispositionen mehr von der IBSR-Methode profi-tieren als andere

German Adaptation of the Subjective Vitality Scales (SVS-G)

Subjective vitality is a positive feeling of aliveness and energy, and it is a crucial aspect of well-being. The Subjective Vitality Scales (SVS) have been developed to measure subjective vitality both at the individual difference level and the state level in English-speaking samples. We translated the SVS into German (the SVS-G) and examined their psychometric properties. In Study 1 (N=260), we found that two correlated factors (Factor 1: individual difference level; Factor 2: state level) with five items each constituted a useful structure for the SVS-G. Moreover, the scores on the individual difference scale were more stable than the scores on the state scale. We also found partial evidence for the measurement invariance over a period of three weeks. Conforming to our expectations, Study 2 (N=296) revealed that the SVS-G scores were related to positive and negative affect but could still be distinguished from the affect variables. In line with previous findings, Study 3 (N=203) showed that SVS-G scores are related to well- being variables (happiness and joviality) and the perceived capacity to actively perform effortful tasks (attentiveness and capacity for self-control). Across all the studies, the SVS-G showed satisfying inner consistency, and the two consideration levels (individual differences vs. state) could be differentiated. The initial evidence suggests that overall, the SVS-G have good psychometric properties

Reduction of Chronic Stress and Trait Anxiety by Inquiry of Cognitive Appraisals with the Inquiry-Based Stress Reduction (IBSR) Method

Background: Chronic stress and anxiety can impair individuals’ health. Appraisal theories assume that stress and anxiety are experienced if individuals appraise a situation as threatening for their well-being. Thus, the modification of cognitive appraisals can be expected to reduce stress and anxiety. A potentially effective method to modify individuals’ appraisals is inquiry-based stress reduction (IBSR; Mitchell & Mitchell, 2003)

Correlates of the Intention to Reduce One’s Meat Consumption

Meat consumption is one of the behaviors significantly contributing to environmental damage. Reduced meat consumption can therefore be regarded sustainable behavior. On the basis of the Theory of Planned Behavior, we examined to which extent one’s attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control predict the intention to reduce one’s own meat consumption. The sample was recruited in 2015 (n = 257) and 2017 (n = 231). It consisted of employees and university students. Results of a linear regression analysis revealed that the intention to reduce one’s own meat consumption was predicted statistically significantly by individuals’ attitude to reduce meat consumption and by their subjective norm, while perceived behavioral control did not play any significant role. These findings imply that the promotion of sustainable meat consumption needs to focus primarily on individuals’ attitudes on meat consumption. Future research should include additional consumer groups to ensure ecological validity of the findings