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Past research has shown that test anxiety affects academic performance (Benjamin, 1991; Wittmaier, 1972; Kirkland and Hollandsworth, 1979; Meichenbaum and Butler, 1980; Kalechstein et al, 1988). Many theories have been proposed to explain the phenomenon of test anxiety; of which, the four dominate models are discussed herein.
Cognitive-Attention Model
As the first model to appear in the literature (Benjamin, 1991), the cognitive-attention model proposes that cognitive factors, such as student negative evaluation and self-perceived inadequacies, and emotionality factors, such as physiological reactions of distress and tension, manifest in the form of task-irrelevant thinking, worry, negative self-preoccupations or physiological reactions (Sarason, 1978, 1980; Wine, 1971; Jones & Petruzzi, 1995). As such, anxious individuals allocate attentional resources to the perceived threat, rather than focusing on the task at hand. This disrupts the balance between the two attentional systems (Cobetta & Shulman, 2002; Posner & Peterson, 1990), thereby decreasing the influence of goal-directed attentional system (Eysenck, 2007).
Learning Deficit Model
This model challenges the cognitive-attention model by suggesting that deficient test-taking skills and inadequate study habits are the main causes of poor performance instead of anxiety. Backed by Wittmaier (1972), Kirkland and Hollandsworth (1979), it was discovered that students with high levels of test anxiety are less equipped with effective study habits as opposed to students with low levels of test anxiety. They posit that the sole reason for poor academic performance is poor study and test-taking skills in students with test anxiety levels.
Dual Deficit Model
The dual deficit model acknowledges the cognitive-attention factor and the learning deficit in students with high test anxiety. Proponents such as Meichenbaum and Butler (1980) suggest that a student with high test anxiety may have “poor study skills, task-irrelevant dialogue, irrational beliefs and unrealistic expectations”, which interact with one another and thus attribute to failure to organise academic content and difficulties in retrieving such information during the test.