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Writing down fears boosts exam marks

A new study suggests writing down anxieties before writing a test or exam can lead to higher grades.

The study, conducted at the University of Chicago, found anxious students performed 10 to 15 per cent better when they were given 10 minutes before their exam to write about their feelings. The experiment was successively repeated on high school students, where the test boosted the average mark of nervous students from a B- to a B+.

High stress situations can deplete a part of the brain’s working memory. By writing about fears before a test students are able to alleviate those concerns and are able to mentally relax.

“Other studies in psychology have shown that ‘emotional disclosure’ —writing or talking about events that cause us to feel anxiety, fear, or stress — can have a variety of beneficial effects, such as better moods, more positive self-perceptions, and even better health,” says Doug Hazlewood, a psychology professor at Western. “I think all of these positive outcomes would be related to better performance on tests and exams.”

Daniel Ansari, chair of developmental psychology at Western, notes this study correlates with previous psychology studies. He notes some studies have even gone so far as to determine why there are sometimes discrepancies between men and women’s test scores.

“There is a commonly held stereotype that women are worse at math than men, which is not true,” he says. “This stereotype affects women’s math performance and leads to performance decrements. However, if women are told that this stereotype is not true the performance decrements disappear.”

The study provided students with an easy pre-test exercise that could make a significant difference to their performance on tests and exams.

This may just be the tip of the iceberg, as future studies may explore how this simple activity could improve an individual’s performance on other high-stress activities.

— Brent Holmes

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