According to an Associated Press report called "Researcher Finds Easy Solution for Test Anxiety," by Donna Gordon Blankinship, new research indicates that writing about test anxiety for ten minutes before a test
A report in the January 14 edition of the journal Science says that Professor Sian L. Beilock of the University of Chicago and her group found that "students who spend 10 minutes before an exam writing about their thoughts and feelings can free up brainpower previously occupied by testing worries and do their best work."
According to the Associated Press report, the researchers "believe worrying competes for computing power in the brain's 'working,' or short term, memory." They hypothesize that when the working memory focuses on anxiety, it can't work on recalling the material the student prepared to the test.
Professor Beilock published her book on related research, “Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To,” in September of 2010.
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