Behavioral inhibition and test anxiety: an empirical investigation of Gray's theory

The effects of test anxiety on behavioral inhibition were examined using three computerized behavioral tasks. High test anxious subjects demonstrated more behavioral inhibition than low test anxious subjects, according to frequency measures on two of the three behavioral tasks. Group differences in latency measures were not found, however. High test anxious subjects reported higher levels of state anxiety than low test anxious subjects. Increased behavioral inhibition was greater for the Punishment condition, which involved the loss of points and negative audio-visual feedback for incorrect responses, than for the Non-Reward condition. Contrary to initial predictions, group differences were found to be greater in the Non-Reward condition than in the Punishment condition.