Academic Anxiety

Academic anxiety causes students to perform poorly.

Anxiety is a mental feeling of uneasiness or distress in reaction to a situation that is perceived negatively. According to Cornell University, anxiety is similar to a messenger because it alerts your body when something is wrong or worth your attention. Academic anxiety afflicts students during school-related situations, and Montana State University, Billings reports that affected individuals frequently develop the problem due to developmental issues or their educational, family or genetic history.

Significance

Academic anxiety is a common issue that students cannot ignore if they want to succeed in school. It often leads to problems concentrating while studying and remembering information while completing tests, which makes the student feel helpless and like a failure. If academic anxiety isn't properly addressed, it can have many serious and lasting consequences, such as causing a student to procrastinate, perform poorly on schoolwork, fail classes and withdraw from socializing with peers or pursuing activities that interest him.

Features

Cornell University lists four main components of academic anxiety: emotionality, study-skills deficits, task-generated interference and worrying. Emotionality is linked to biological signs, such as a fast heartbeat, nausea, sweaty palms and tense muscles. Study skills deficits result from inadequate study techniques that trigger anxiety. Task-generated interference is an outcome of unproductive behaviors that impede academic performance, such as spending too much time on questions you can't answer. Worry undermines academic success by distracting you from focusing on what needs to be done to perform well.

Causes

According to Cornell University, academic anxiety is the result of biochemical processes in the body and the brain that make your attention level increase when they occur. The changes happen in response to exposure to a stressful academic situation, such as completing school assignments, presenting a project in class or taking a test. When the anxiety becomes too great, the body recoils as if threatened, which is a normal fight-or-flight reaction.

Prevention

Greenfield Community College recommends teaching students who suffer from academic anxiety how to practice relaxation techniques to make their studying habits more effective. For instance, tell yourself at the beginning of the study session that you are alert, calm and open-minded. Cornell University suggests additional approaches, such as thinking about positive mental images during stressful academic situations and seeking counseling to learn better study techniques.

Benefits

A manageable level of academic anxiety is actually a good thing, according to Greenfield Community College. Moderate academic anxiety provides the motivation students require to exert effort completing assigned schoolwork and preparing to take examinations. Academic anxiety only becomes a problem that needs a solution when the amount experienced grows so excessive that a student is no longer able to function productively.

References

• Cornell Learning Strategies Center: Understanding Academic Anxiety
• Greenfield Community College: Coping With Academic Anxiety
• Montana State University, Billings: Sources of Academic Anxiety

Resources

• Cornell Learning Strategies Center