The Inverted U Relationship between Anxiety and Academic Achievement in Statistics of Bangkok University Students
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Abstract
This study aims to examine the possibility of the inverted U of quadratic relationship between statistics anxiety and academic achievement in statistics of Bangkok University students. The Statistics Anxiety Ratings Scale (STARS), developed by Cruise and Wilkinsand the Work Value Survey’s Achievement Scale, developed by Schwartz were conducted with a total of 197 Communication Arts students, who enrolled in a Statistics for Social Science course in the second semester of the academic year 2013, in conjunction with 6 tests during the term. The obtained data were analyzed by the multivariate repeated measure analysis of variance, the correlation analysis and the hierarchically nested regressions analysis. The findings were that as the term progressed, the statistics anxiety decreased, and also strongly related to the academic achievement. The Inverted U of quadratic model was a better predictor of the academic achievement than linear model, indicating a mid-range optimal level of statistics anxiety provided the highest academic achievement in statistics course. Besides, it was found that the need for achievement did not mediate the relationship between statistics anxiety and academic achievement of the students.
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References
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