Effects of humor on test anxiety and performance
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Updated: Oct 19, 2026

Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance
Published on: July 19, 2017
A H Perlini1, R G Nenonen, D L Lind
1Department of Psychology, Algoma University College, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. perlini@tbird.auc.on.ca
Abstract:
The present study evaluated the moderating effects of humor in test items on the hypothesized relationship between test anxiety and performance. Subjects initially completed anxiety scales, as well as coping-humor and sense-of-humor scales. 34 women and 26 men received achievement tests under one of three test conditions: (1) nonhumorous, (2) low-humor (15% of test items), or (3) moderate-humor (30% of test items). These test versions were administered under both low, i.e., short quiz, and high, i.e., examination, outcome-value conditions. Humor frequency did not improve the test performance of highly test-anxious subjects under either outcome-value condition. Together with other previous disconfirmatory findings, the present results suggest that the hypothesized moderating role of item humor in the anxiety-performance relationship may be overstated. Ancillary analyses suggest that individual differences in the use of humor as a coping strategy significantly predict examination scores.
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