Anxiety and cognitive functioning: Effects on performance in academic tasks

Firstly, this paper deals with an adaptive conceptualisation of anxiety as a reaction which mobilizes resources to avoid anticipated threats; and test anxiety is proposed as typical of academic contexts. Secondly, the attentional interference theory and the processing efficiency theory are presented, along with the corresponding experimental evidence, to account for the negative effects of anxiety on cognitive tasks. In addition, the alternative hypothesis of a basic capacity and knowledge deficit is discussed. Finally, implications of these theories for reading comprehension and performance in examinations in academic contexts are analised.