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Trait anxiety and final degree performance at the University of Oxford

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Abstract

A questionnaire was administered to 1,929 applicants to Oxford University, including measures of trait anxiety, behavioural response to examinations and to breakdown in relationships. 635 of these applicants were admitted to the university and of these, 383 also responded to a questionnaire administered 4 years later, just before their final examinations. The classification (first, upper and lower second, third class) and marks in the final examinations were obtained and the relationship between the personality measures and academic performance were calculated. Women showed higher anxiety scores than men at both times of testing. Women who obtained the best (first class) degrees scored significantly higher on anxiety than those who performed less well. In contrast, there was no such difference in men. Explanations for anxiety having a facilitatory effect on academic performance of women at Oxford University are proposed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3UD, UK

    Jane Mellanby

  2. Institute of Social Change, University of Manchester, 4th Floor Arthur Lewis Building, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

    Anna Zimdars

Authors
  1. Jane Mellanby
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  2. Anna Zimdars
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Correspondence to Jane Mellanby.

Appendices

Appendix 1

Responses one of: ‘never’, ‘rarely’, sometimes’, ‘often’, ‘always’

When things go wrong in my family and personal relationships:

I find myself unable to work

I throw myself into my work

I think all the time about the problem

I continually talk it over with friends

I throw myself into sport/extra-curricular activities/hobbies

Appendix 2

Responses one of: ‘never’, ‘rarely’, ‘sometimes’, ‘often’, always’.

Please think back to when you last took exams and try to answer the following questions. The questions concern what you did in the study period running up to the exams and during the exams themselves.

I had difficulty sleeping

I got much less sleep than I am used to by staying up late at night studying

I got much less sleep than I am used to by getting up very early to study

I did not eat as regularly as I am used to

I ate more than usual

I did not eat as much food as I am used to

I felt ill or out of sorts

I felt distressed/upset

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Mellanby, J., Zimdars, A. Trait anxiety and final degree performance at the University of Oxford. High Educ 61, 357–370 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-010-9335-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-010-9335-5

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