The Dreaded Exam Anxiety May Be a Good Thing?

Every student knows the anxiety of exams, especially in classes they do not feel up to par in. As a matter of fact, I feel anxious every time I walk into a neuroscience test. What is shocking to some people is that this anxiety, this nervous reaction, may actually help students do better.

 Now let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Anxiety can have a negative effect on students' grades. As we discussed in class, memory is pivotal to us. We rely on it for every aspect of our lives. But just because it is important doesn't mean it is perfect. Memory is also subject to its own malfunctions. Decay, retrieval errors, and encoding failures are all examples of these shortcomings of memories. So if a student walks into a test with poor memory of the material, being anxious is not going to help them. Rather, it will prove to be detrimental.

 But what is the student knows the material and is comfortable with it? A study of 96 students who were between 12 to 14 years of age and from various schools were asked to complete computer tasks that measured working memory while monitoring anxiety levels. They found that when working memory was below par, the student usually had poor scores. If their working memory was good, they usually had higher scores. Now, if you are wondering why they chose to test working memory, you're not alone. It has been found that working memory relates to being able to retain education. But rest assured, they were also tested with math problems and other cognitive tasks.

Although this article doesn't fully explain why it is that anxiety can help increase test scores when you know the material, it does serve as a launching point for other tests and opens the door into the world of memory.

 So what does this all mean to us students? It means that we can rest easy... as long as we know the material and pay attention in class. Nerves can be a good thing. We can relax knowing that even if we are nervous, as long as we know the material we will do fine, maybe even better than if we weren't nervous. So rest easy fellow students, know that as long as you study you will do well, even in that sometimes scary neuroscience class.

 If you would like to read more about the study feel free to visit Science Daily: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121011195239.htm