The Effect of Cognitive Bias Modification in the Attention Bias of Students With Test Anxiety

Abstract Introduction: Many of the students chr('39')educational problems, including academic failure and maladaptive behaviors, stem from exam anxiety caused by studentschr('39') cognitive bias. Cognitive bias modification can reduce attention biases students to be negative. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive bias modification intervention on reducing attention bias in students with test anxiety. Methods: This research was an experimental study with pre and post-tests and a control group design. Statistical population of the study included all high school female students with test anxiety in district 3 of Tehran City in 2018-2019 academic years. Research sample included 32 female students with test anxiety who were selected cluster sampling and classified into two groups: experimental group (n=16 subjects) and control group (n=16 subjects). The research instrument in used in this study was the Sarason Anxiety Questionnaire (1980) with a reliability of 0.88 and dot probe task(2017). Which has good validity and reliability of tool for hated face is 0.94 and neutral face is 0.95. The results were analyzed using univariate analysis of covariance in SPSS version 22. Results: The results of Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) showed that cognitive bias modification were effective in attention bias of students with test anxiety (P < 0.05). Conclusions: According to the results, it can be said that using this intervention can reduce the attention bias of the students with test anxiety, and thus increase the mental health and concentration of the students with test anxiety.