Pretask versus within-task anxiety measures in predicting performance on a concept acquisition task

Hypothesized that within-task state anxiety measures are significantly better predictors of performance than pretask trait or state anxiety measures. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, A-State scale, and the Taylor Manifest Anxiety scale were administered to 75 undergraduates once a week for 3 wks and immediately before and after a crystal identification task. A regression data analysis confirmed the hypothesis (p < .01). Repeated measurements of trait and state anxiety demonstrated the fluctuation of anxiety over time and the effect of environmental changes on state anxiety. The implications are that aptitude-treatment interactions using within-task measures may be more useful in designing adaptive instruction than the current notion of using pretask measures. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).