Academic Examination Stress Impairs Self–Control

Megan Oaten · Ken Cheng

236 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Social and Clinical Psychology

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Behavioral Health and Interventions Student Stress and Coping Stress and Burnout Research

Abstract

Recent research proposes that human beings have a limited capacity for self–regulation. Self–regulatory efforts may fail because this capacity is depleted, and such depletion is exacerbated by stress. The present study tested whether academic examination stress would impair regulatory behavior by consuming self–control strength. An exam–stress group was assessed at baseline and then during the commencement of exams; a control group was assessed at two unstressful times. Perceived stress, emotional distress, and regulatory behavior were assessed by questionnaire. During the exam period, the exam–stress group showed impaired performance on a lab task (Stroop) following thought suppression, a form of self–regulatory activity. They also reported significant increases in perceived stress and emotional distress; they also reported an increase in smoking and caffeine consumption; a decrease in healthy eating, emotional control, frequency and duration of physical activity, maintenance of household chores and self–care habits, attendance to commitments, and monitoring of spending; and a deterioration in sleep patterns and study habits. The control group showed no systematic changes in the lab task, perceived stress, emotional distress, or regulatory behavior across sessions. The results are discussed in relation to the effect of real-world stress in decreasing self–control strength.

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 236 citations exist upstream.

References

1983A Global Measure of Perceived Stress 1995The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories 2004High Self‐Control Predicts Good Adjustment, Less Pathology, Better Grades, and Interpersonal Success 1998Ego depletion: Is the active self a limited resource?2000Self-regulation and depletion of limited resources: Does self-control resemble a muscle?1944Principles of Behavior 1995Losing control: how and why people fail at self-regulation 1998Self-control as a limited resource: Regulatory depletion patterns.

Cited by

2015Debt out of control: The links between self-control, compulsive buying, and real debts 2010Locus of Control and Self-Efficacy: Potential Mediators of Stress, Illness, and Utilization of Health Services in College Students 2007Improvements in self-control from financial monitoring 2008College Students Who Have an Eveningness Preference Report Lower Self‐Control and Greater Procrastination 2018Perceived stress and mobile phone addiction in Chinese adolescents: A moderated mediation model

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.