Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34624665›Full record

Trial reportBehaviour research and therapy2021

The effectiveness of affective compared to neutral working memory training in university students with test anxiety.

Savannah Minihan, Zobair Samimi, Susanne Schweizer

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Behaviour research and therapy, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
1.8field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.

Savannah MinihanUniversity of New South Wales, School of Psychology, Developmental Affective Science Lab, Australia.
Zobair SamimiInternational University of Chabahar, Department of Educational Science, Chabahar, Iran.
Susanne SchweizerUniversity of New South Wales, School of Psychology, Developmental Affective Science Lab, Australia; University of Cambridge, Department of Psychology, Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Group, UK. Electronic address: ss816@cam.ac.uk.
UNSW Sydney · AUInternational University of Chabahar · IR

Funding

Cognitive Training for Emotion Regulation in Psychotic DisordersR61MH121560 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA · PI STRAUSS, GREGORY P · 2020 to 2021
$1.2M
NIMH NIH HHS R61 MH121560Wellcome Trust 209127
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTest anxiety (TA), defined as the emotional, physiological, and behavioural responses surrounding situations involving formal evaluation of performance, is a relatively common occurrence, and, when present, can be a disruptive factor in students' academic careers. Research indicates that working memory, in particular, affective working memory, is impaired in individuals with TA. The current study therefore explored whether training the application of working memory in affective contexts could reduce TA and associated cognitive and affective impairments.

method60 Iranian university students (50% female; 19-22 years) with TA symptoms were randomized to receive 20 sessions of affective working memory training (aWMT), neutral working memory training (nWMT) or to a no-training control group. Prior and immediately after training, all participants completed measures of TA, working memory, cognitive control, and emotion regulation.

resultsCompared to the control group, both the aWMT and the nWMT groups demonstrated improved cognitive and affective functioning from pre-to post-training. However, the reduction in TA symptoms and improvement in emotion regulation was greater in the aWMT group compared to the nWMT group.

conclusionaWMT may be an effective means of not only reducing TA, but also enhancing cognitive and affective functioning. These preliminary findings are promising given the potential for free and easy dissemination of aWMT in schools and online settings, including low- and middle-income countries.

Indexed as

Memory, Short-TermTest AnxietyFemaleHumansIranLearningMaleStudentsUniversitiesYoung AdultCognitive controlEmotion regulationTest anxietyWorking memory training

Identifiers

PMID34624665
PMCPMC7611905
OpenAlexW3203921889

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.