College of Education
Date of Award
5-1990
Document Type
Research Project Report
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Education
First Advisor
Spencer K. Thompson, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Waylon Griffin, Ph.D.
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelationships among state and trait anxiety, physiological changes, and performance in school-aged children. It was predicted that older children would have higher trait anxiety scores. High state anxiety was expected to raise pulse rates and lower performance for both age levels. Twenty-one kindergarten students and seventeen third-grade students served as subjects. The children completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. They learned an age appropriate song and performed this song at home and at a concert. Pulse rates were measured both at home and the concert. Statistical analysis showed that the older children did not have higher T-anxiety scores. State anxiety was related to lower performance for the older children only. Even though pulse rates at performances increased over resting rates, pulse rates were not related to state anxiety. However, state anxiety was related to setting. The results from this study confirmed the complex relationship between anxiety and performance. This complexity must be kept in mind when considering the effects of educational practices on anxiety levels.
Recommended Citation
McQuitty, Ruth Ann, "Performance Anxiety in the Young Child" (1990). College of Education. 106.
https://falconcommons.utpb.edu/utpb-edu/106
Comments
BF723.A5.M37 1990