Effects of anxiety-reducing hypnotic training on learning and reading-comprehension tasks
Johnson, R.L.; Johnson, H.C.
Journal of the National Medical Association 76(3): 233-235
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0027-9684 PMID: 6716497 Document Number: 239135
The effect of anxiety-reducing hypnotic training on learning and reading-comprehension tasks was examined. Fifteen college students who reported having test-taking anxiety were randomly assigned to an experimental or a control group. The experimental group received hypnotic training to reduce anxiety prior to taking a learning and reading-comprehension test. No significant difference was found between the experimental and the control group on the simple-recall task. However, on the reading-comprehension test the experimental group scored significantly higher than the control group. Further examination of the total score revealed that the experimental group difference was due to superior performance on the inference items. There was no difference between groups on items that required the recall of information from the passage. These findings support the notion that hypnotic training may be useful to reduce anxiety and improve test performance.