Cognition in test-anxious children: the role of on-task and coping cognition reconsidered

This study investigated cognition in children with high, moderate, and low test anxiety under naturalistic test-taking conditions. Children with high test anxiety not only reported more negative self-evaluations and more off-task thoughts but also more on-task and coping thoughts. Consistent with previous research, no "task-facilitating" role for these on-task and coping cognitions was found. This finding lends support to the notion of "the power of non-negative thinking". The only facilitating role was for positive self-evaluations. It was hypothesized that positive cognition could be task-facilitating under certain conditions. Limited support was found for this idea.