Pinpointing the Problems and Practicing the Solutions
Step 1: Pinpointing Situations That Trigger Test Anxiety
Examples: Being completely baffled by one of the questions; looking around and seeing that everybody else “seems to know” what they are doing, etc.
Step 2: Pinpointing Self-Defeating Thoughts
What thoughts are racing through your mind while in those test taking situations? Example: “I can’t answer this question. Now I’m going to blow the whole test”; “Look at all those people leaving before me. They must be really smart.”
Step 3: Practice Rational Thinking
ELIMINATE SELF-DEFEATING THOUGHTS and minimize the interfering anxiety they create. Example: “It’s only one question. The grade for the whole test does not rest on this one question. Just because people are leaving does not mean they are going to get a better grade. I’ll just work at my own pace. This is a test, not a race.”
Step 4: Practice Rational Test Taking
Practice overcoming test anxiety by creating situations that are as close to the actual testing situation as possible. Example: Take the practice tests at the end of a textbook chapter “as if” it were a final exam. Your score on the practice test provides the answer to the question: “how do I know I’m ready for the exam?”
Step 5: Practice Overlearning
Overlearning involves going over the material again and again, until you have MASTERED it.
Step 6: Practice Relaxation
Learn breathing techniques and how to evoke the body’s natural relaxation response.
Step 7: Practice Self-Reward
Congratulate yourself for replacing self-defeating thoughts with rational alternatives. Give yourself credit for using relaxation techniques to keep yourself calm. Focus your attention on those parts of the test you were able to answer with some degree of confidence. When the test is over, don’t punish yourself with thoughts of what you think you “should” have done.
