What student hasn't felt that stomach-tightening feeling when
test day arrives? Nearly everyone becomes at least somewhat
anxious when they are facing an examination, and many suffer
test-taking anxiety to such a degree that they seek professional
help for the condition. Psychologists have long known that
stressful situations, such as having to take tests, leads to
heightened arousal, producing autonomic nervous system responses
to that stress which can range from sweaty palms to panic attacks
and mental freeze-ups. An interesting study was recently
conducted by Dr. David Beversdorf, a practicing neurologist at
the Ohio State University College of Medicine. The study looked
not at behavioral responses to stress, but at its impact on
cognitive performance. The study's findings suggest that stress
affects cognitive functions in differing ways. Specifically,
researchers found that stress actually improved student's
abilities to handle rote memory tasks, but had a negative effect
on problem-solving abilities. The researchers speculated that
stress-triggered increases in norepinephrine levels, often called
the "fight or flight" compound, may be the mechanism which
mediates the observed improvement in rote memorization, but may
also inhibit the kinds of mental flexibility needed for more
complex, problem-solving tasks. Clearly, further research is
needed in order to elucidate norepinephrine's role in cognition
during stress, in the hope that a deeper understanding of the
impact of stress levels on cognitive performance will lead to new
and more effective approaches to reducing test-taking
anxiety.
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