Study on correlation between working memory and test anxiety of nursing students based on event-related potential

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-490X.2026.03.007

Abstract

Abstract: Objective To investigate the differences of verbal working memory and event-related potentials in nursing undergraduates with different test anxiety levels and provide a neurophysiological basis for training verbal working memory to reduce test anxiety. Methods 77 first-year nursing students from a comprehensive university in Hebei province were selected as the study subjects, and test anxiety scale (TAS)was used to assess the test anxiety of 77 nursing undergraduates. According to the evaluation results, nursing undergraduates with TAS≤12 points were selected as the low test anxiety group(n=48), while nursing undergraduates with TAS≥20 points were selected as the high test anxiety group(n=29). Independent sample t test was used to compare the differences between verbal working memory span, P300 latency and amplitude between the two groups. Results Participants in the low test anxiety group exhibited significantly higher scores on both the reading span and counting span tasks compared with those in the high test anxiety group(P<0.05). In contrast, the high test anxiety group demonstrated a significantly longer reaction latency than that of the low test anxiety group(P<0.05). Moreover, the amplitude at the Cz electrode was markedly greater in the high test anxiety group relative to the low anxiety group(P<0.05). However, no significant group differences were observed in the amplitudes at Fz or Pz(P>0.05). Conclusion Nursing students with high levels of test anxiety show poorer verbal working memory performance, require more time to evaluate and categorize stimuli, and invest greater mental effort during the updating of working memory representations compared with those in the low-anxiety group. Attention deficit may be the main cause of exam anxiety. Future research can reduce test anxiety by strengthening attention bias training, working memory training and mindfulness training to increase attention control ability.

Key words: test anxiety, nursing undergraduates, verbal working memory, event-related potential

CLC Number:

Du Xiaojing, Li Zining, Pang Lin, Jing Kunjuan, Yang Tao. Study on correlation between working memory and test anxiety of nursing students based on event-related potential[J]. Journal of Hebei Medical College for Continuing Education, 2026, 43(3): 64-72.

References

[1] Baddeley A. Working memory: looking back and looking forward[J]. Nat Rev Neurosci, 2003, 4(10): 829-839. DOI: 10.1038/nrn1201.
[2] Lotz C, Sparfeldt J R. Does test anxiety increase as the exam draws near:students' state test anxiety recorded over the course of one semester[J]. Pers Individ Differ, 2017, 104: 397-400. DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2016.08.032.
[3] Lohiya N, Kajale N, Lohiya N, et al. Test anxiety among school-going children and adolescents, factors affecting and impact on quality of life: a multicenter study[J]. Indian J Pediatr, 2021, 88(9): 892-898. DOI: 10.1007/s12098-021-03676-x.
[4] Mary R A, Marslin G, Franklin G, et al. Test anxiety levels of board exam going students in Tamil Nadu, India[J]. Biomed Res Int, 2014, 2014: 578323. DOI: 10.1155/2014/578323.
[5] Chen C Y, Liu P Y, Wu F, et al. Factors associated with test anxiety among adolescents in Shenzhen, China[J]. J Affect Disord, 2023, 323: 123-130. DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.11.048.
[6] Balogun A G, Balogun S K, Onyencho C V. Test anxiety and academic performance among undergraduates: the moderating role of achievement motivation[J]. Span J Psychol, 2017, 20: E14. DOI: 10.1017/sjp.2017.5.
[7] Zhang W P, De Beuckelaer A, Chen L R, et al. ERP evidence for inhibitory control deficits in test-anxious individuals[J]. Front Psychiatry, 2019, 10: 645. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00645.
[8] Wei H, Chang L, Huang Q, et al. Relation between spontaneous electroencephalographic theta/beta power ratio and test anxiety[J]. Neurosci Lett, 2020, 737: 135323. DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2020.135323.
[9] Wei H, De Beuckelaer A, Zhou R L. Enhanced or impoverished recruitment of top-down attentional control of inhibition in test anxiety[J]. Biol Psychol, 2021, 161: 108070. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108070.
[10] Song J T, Chang L, Zhou R L. Test anxiety impairs filtering ability in visual working memory: evidence from event-related potentials[J]. J Affect Disord, 2021, 292: 700-707. DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.05.091.
[11] Yang C L, Sun B K, Potts R, et al. Do working memory capacity and test anxiety modulate the beneficial effects of testing on new learning [J]. J Exp Psychol Appl, 2020, 26(4): 724-738. DOI: 10.1037/xap0000278.
[12] Dowker A, Sheridan H. Relationships between mathematics performance and attitude to mathematics: influences of gender, test anxiety, and working memory[J]. Front Psychol, 2022, 13: 814992. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.814992.
[13] Owens M, Stevenson J, Hadwin J A, et al. When does anxiety help or hinder cognitive test performance the role of working memory capacity[J]. Br J Psychol, 2014, 105(1): 92-101. DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12009.
[14] Kindermann S S, Kalayam B, Brown G G, et al. Executive functions and P300 latency in elderly depressed patients and control subjects[J]. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry, 2000, 8(1): 57-65. DOI: 10.1097/00019442-200002000-00008.
[15] Portin R, Kovala T, Polo-Kantola P, et al. Does P3 reflect attentional or memory performances, or cognition more generally [J]. Scand J Psychol, 2000, 41(1): 31-40. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9450.00168.
[16] Marchetti M, Piccione F, Silvoni S, et al. Exogenous and endogenous orienting of visuospatial attention in P300-guided brain computer interfaces: a pilot study on healthy participants[J]. Clin Neurophysiol, 2012, 123(4): 774-779. DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2011.07.045.
[17] Hogan M J, Kenney J P M, Roche R A P, et al. Behavioural and electrophysiological effects of visual paired associate context manipulations during encoding and recognition in younger adults, older adults and older cognitively declined adults[J]. Exp Brain Res, 2012, 216(4): 621-633. DOI: 10.1007/s00221-011-2966-7.
[18] Saverino C, Fatima Z, Sarraf S, et al. The associative memory deficit in aging is related to reduced selectivity of brain activity during encoding[J]. J Cogn Neurosci, 2016, 28(9): 1331-1344. DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00970.
[19] Berti S, Geissler H, Lachmann T, et al. Event-related brain potentials dissociate visual working memory processes under categorial and identical comparison conditions[J]. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res, 2000, 9(2): 147-155. DOI: 10.1016/s0926-6410(99)00051-8.
[20] Sarason I G. The test anxiety scale: concept and research[C] //Spielberger C D, Sarason I G. Stress and Anxiety. Washington DC: Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, 1978: 193-216.
[21] 王才康.考试焦虑量表在大学生中的测试报告[J].中国心理卫生杂志, 2001, 15(2): 96-97. DOI: 10.3321/j.issn:1000-6729.2001.02.011.
[22] Shi Z, Gao X, Zhou R L. Emotional working memory capacity in test anxiety[J]. Learn Individ Differ, 2014, 32: 178-183. DOI: 10.1016/j.lindif.2014.03.011.
[23] Ng E, Lee K. Test anxiety and children's working memory task performance: does trait or state anxiety matter more[J].J Exp Psychopathol, 2016, 7(3): 374-390. DOI: 10.5127/jep.054115.
[24] Eysenck M W, Derakshan N, Santos R, et al. Anxiety and cognitive performance: attentional control theory[J]. Emotion, 2007, 7(2): 336-353. DOI: 10.1037/1528-3542.7.2.336.
[25] Song J T, Chang L, Zhou R L. Effect of test anxiety on visual working memory capacity using evidence from event-related potentials[J]. Psychophysiology, 2022, 59(2): e13965. DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13965.
[26] Wang S, Zhao Y, Chen S J, et al. EEG biofeedback improves attentional bias in high trait anxiety individuals[J]. BMC Neurosci, 2013, 14(1): 115. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2202-14-115.
[27] Huang Q, Hou L L, Zhang W P, et al. The dysregulation of top-down control in individuals with high test anxiety: a resting state fMRI study[J]. J Psychiatr Res, 2022, 151: 649-656. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.05.023.
[28] Soares D, Woods K. An international systematic literature review of test anxiety interventions 2011-2018[J]. Pastor Care Educ, 2020, 38(4): 311-334. DOI: 10.1080/02643944.2020.1725909.
[29] Patel N, Stoodley C, Pine D S, et al. Interaction of induced anxiety and verbal working memory: influence of trait anxiety[J]. Learn Mem, 2017, 24(9): 407-413. DOI: 10.1101/lm.044123.116.
[30] Sachs G, Anderer P, Margreiter N, et al. P300 event-related potentials and cognitive function in social phobia[J]. Psychiatry Res, 2004, 131(3): 249-261. DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2004.05.005.
[31] Wei H, Oei T P, Zhou R L. Test anxiety impairs inhibitory control processes in a performance evaluation threat situation: Evidence from ERP[J]. Biol Psychol, 2022, 168: 108241. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108241.
[32] König N, Steber S, Borowski A, et al. Neural processing of cognitive control in an emotionally neutral context in anxiety patients[J]. Brain Sci, 2021, 11(5): 543. DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11050543.
[33] Cai W P, Pan Y, Chai H, et al. Attentional bias modification in reducing test anxiety vulnerability: a randomized controlled trial[J]. BMC Psychiatry, 2018, 18(1): 1. DOI: 10.1186/s12888-017-1517-6.
[34] Pan D N, Hoid D, Gu R L, et al. Emotional working memory training reduces rumination and alters the EEG microstate in anxious individuals[J]. Neuroimage Clin, 2020, 28: 102488. DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102488.
[35] Makowski D, Sperduti M, Lavallée S, et al. Dispositional mindfulness attenuates the emotional attentional blink[J]. Conscious Cogn, 2019, 67: 16-25. DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2018.11.004.