Collegian
PAGE 4
Tips to turn off test anxiety
by Dr. Brenda Eastman
Contributing Writer
Do you walk into the classroom
where a big exam is scheduled with
sweating palms, pounding heart,
and bladder sensations that pull
you back into the restroom?
Many people do. However, if
you consider yourself to be a test
anxious person, then you probably
also perceive that you deserve bet
ter test grades than you get.
There is help for test anxiety.
First, it's helpful to understand the
two major components of test anx
iety. One is "emotionality," the
sympathetic nervous system
arousal that brings us clammy
hands and butterflies in the
stomach. It may surprise you to
know that students who consistent
ly get "A's" on tests experience the
same degree of emotionality. They,
too, stop in the restroom and find
the pencil slipping in their grip.
Why, then, are they not shaken by
this?
The difference between the suc
cessful test-taker and the anxious
test-taker is the interpretation they
make of their symptoms of
arousal. The test-anxious student
interprets the physiological sensa
Behrend College enters
by Lisa Hahn
Collegian Staff Writer
The lights go down, the music
plays, and on the screen before you
are many interesting and unusual
slides being shown. You're not sure
just what is going to happen next,
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tions of anxiety as evidence that he
is falling apart. They confirm his
fears that he will be unable to
"think straight." Our "Dean's
List" student, on the other hand,
views the arousal as an indication
that he is really "up" for the test.
The bodily symptoms of anxiety re
mind him of how much energy he
has invested in 'preparing for this
test. He's keenly aware that he is
ready to "pour it on."
Thus the "A" student uses the
emotional arousal as a focus for
the test. In contrast, the test
anxious student interprets it as
something to worry about. Not sur
prisingly, we have the stage set for
a vicious cycle of emotional arousal
leading to worry, and worry
leading to greater emotional agita
tion and districtibility.
The second component of test
anxiety is worry. The test-anxious
student has cornered the market on
worry. He actually worries during
the test! While the "A student" is
putting down answers on paper,
the test-anxious student is
distracted by other thoughts, like
"Oh, no, I don't recognize ques
tion twos"..."Three essays. What
if I only get one right? Maybe I'll
get a `D'. That would make my
and then all of a sudden a voice
beckons you to "enter the JONES
ZONE."
April 22, Scott Jones livened the
Behrend Campus with his comical
-and music-filled show. The perfor
mance lasted about two hours, con
taining such bizarre elements as
grade point average a 2.1...."
The trouble, as you know, is that
the test situation is no place to
worry. When you get this
distracted, you're not giving your
attention to the test itself.
What can you do to curb test
anxiety?
1. The biggest part of the cure is
to study! (Sorry that this first tip is
not more exciting or more
magical.) Truth is, all the studies
on text-anxious students show this
to be the key to resolving test
anxiety.
2. Spaced study is . better than
massed study (cramming). By
studing 45 minutes every day for
two weeks prior to the exam, you
are better prepared and more relax
ed and confident.
3. Find some of the material con
fusing? Check out the Academic
Services Center for assistance, or
request guidance from your
professor.
4. Do not plan to cram right
before the test. Studying during the
hour before the test makes sense
only if you have a very• small
amount of material that you
selected in advance for review at
this time. For example, the night
before the test, you might decide
Suckerman and other various rub
ber toys. Yet there were also very
serious musical parts to the show.
Jones entered Reed 117 wearing a
monkey mask, a silver tinsel wig, a
scarf that looked like a piano
keyboard, and a head appparatus
that had two lights in front of his
eyes making him look like he was
possessed. Upon seeing this, you
knew you were in for something en
tirely out of the ordinary. As time
progressed, the journey into the
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that you would review a particular
formula right before the exam.
Under these circumstances, you
may get the benefits of recency ef
fects on memory.
5. If you feel anxious, practice
relaxation techniques. Take a deep
breath. Breathe in and out slowly.
Focus on your breathing. This has
a remarkable quieting effect on
anxiety.
6. Ask yourself, what is the
worst that can happen? Yes, you
can fail the test, flunk out of Penn
State, and get disinherited by your
rich aunt. But, the sky will still be
blue, roadside stands will still be
open selling ice cream cones, and
big friendly dogs will still want to
lick your hand (especially the one
holding the ice cream cone).
Some people find it helpful to
think of an image that is comfor
ting. For me, it might be the
recollection of a big old kitchen on
a farm in New Hampshire. The
woodbox is piled high with wood
and newspaper, and raised
doughnuts are sizzling on the
woodstove. The image of this, and
the couple who live there, im
mediately puts everything else in
Perspective. What's your image?
At the lake? The beach? A park?
the Jones Zone
Jones Zone became more
interesting.
Initially, Jones sat at the piano
with his "Monkey face" on , and
played played his rendition of
Chopsticks; his left hand on the
piano keys and in the hand were a
pair of wooden chopsticks that did
just as good a trick as his right
hand could have. Finally Jones un
masked himself and began a series
of "old people on the highway"
jokes. Next came the highlight of
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At camp?
7. When you get the test, fill out
the identifying section with name,
date. Action inhibits fear! Start
talking yourself (under your
breath) through the test. "First
question? Well, I know two things
about it..." Talking to the test
focuses your attention on-the test.
You are not to talk about distrac
tors, e.g., counting questions, wor
rying. The only thing you have to
do for the next hour is to respond
to these questions!
If you have memorized facts and
are afraid you'll forget them, jot
down notes in the margins. You
can return to them for reference
later on in the test.
With multiple choice questions,
see what responses you can
eliminate. Still uncertain of the cor
rect answer? Put an asterisk by the
question, and move on. You will go
back to it later. Often the interven
ing questions will jog your
memory, or give away the correct
answer.
An important rule of thumb is
not to waste time staring at ques
tions that you can not answer. Go
on to a new question and return to
them later.
Finally, you're confronting an
the show: the toybox. Each time
Jones reached his hand into it, the
audience waited with anticipation
to see what would appear next.
There was Gumby with his horse
Pokey, little jumping dogs, and of
course Suckerman. You ask, what
is Suckerman? Good question, in
fact I was never sure just what it
was supposed to be. Appearing
half man, half octopus, it was a
rubber human shaped doll which
stuck to almost anything if it was
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present a
eatures
essay question. You're unsure of a
good answer. Start writing what
you do know. Often you'll mention
at least one key idea and earn credit
for that. The same advice applies to
questions that are problems requir
ing a solution, e.g., physics,
statistics. Answer questions; don't
leave them blank.
8. Hang in there for the full test
period. Resist the temptation to
chicken out and escape by handing
the test in early. If you're confus
ed, unclear, use the time to relax
(deep breaths) and go back over the
questions.' Check your answers.
Add points of information as they
occur to you. Don't throw the op
portunity you have away.
9. At the end of the hour, when
you've turned the test in, forget
about it. When you get it back, you
can analyze the test for insights
about the kinds of errors you
made. Now's the time to get that
ice cream cone. Somewhere, a big
dog is waiting.
.10. For further help with test
anxiety, stop by the Personal
Counseling Office, 213 Glennhill,
to talk with Louanne Barton or Dr.
Brenda Eastnian. Call 898-6162 for
an appointment. GOOD LUCK
WITH THOSE FINALS!
thrown at because of the tentacle
like arms with suction cups all
over. If Suckerman stuck to
something, it "sucked," and he
proved this by throwing Sucker
man at a John Denver album (in
cidentally,- it stuck).
The show continued alternating
between joke periods and numbers
on the piano. Jones is a very
talented pianist and vocalist, and
his fifth album is going to be a very
serious musical endeavor_ His
previous four are a combination of
music and some of his comedy
work.
The last part of the act was a sort
of "home movie," when once
again Jones showed slides. These
were pictures he had taken all over
the country, mostly of weird signs.
This slide show generated the most
laughs from the audience as it was
the most different part of the show.
In addition to playing the piano,
Jones plays the guitar. He started
playing the piano when he could
reach it, and the variety in the show
comes •from him and his family
always being kind of weird. He
says that everything together
"makes for a more balanced
show," and he is right. Jones says
he likes touring colleges- best, and
we were certainly delighted to have
him perform at ours.