Citation (APA Style): Jain, S., & Rubino, A. (2012). The effectiveness of Emotional Freedom Techniques for optimal test performance. Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 4(2), 15-25. doi:10.9769.EPJ.2012.4.2.SJ
Abstract
Test anxiety causes, effects and interventions have been widely studied. This study seeks to determine the efficacy of a single brief intervention–Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)–to support the ability to shift attention appropriately to achieve optimal levels of both test anxiety and test performance. The sample consisted of 150 undergraduates from three universities in the Inland Northwest USA with debilitating test anxiety who were randomly assigned to 3 different groups. Group 1 learned EFT, Group 2 learned Diaphragmatic Breathing (DB), and Group 3 served as a no-treatment control. Participants in the two experimental groups received two 2-hour lessons. The Sarason RTT, SA-45 and Westside instruments were administered as pre- and post- measures, with a second follow-up at the end of the semester. Subsequent ANOVAs revealed significant improvements in both the diaphragmatic breathing and EFT groups on most measures, with gains maintained on follow-up.
Keywords: test anxiety, Emotional Freedom Techniques, EFT, performance
