THE EFFECTIVENESS OF METACOGNITIVE THERAPY COMPARED WITH COGNITIVE THERAPY IN REDUCING TEST ANXIETY

This study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of meta-cognitive therapy and cognitive therapy in reducing test anxiety. The study design was quasi-experimental with pre-test and post-test control group. Fifteen graduate female students living in Tarbiat Modares University dormitories were selected by convenient sampling method. The participants were randomly assigned to three groups of meta-cognitive therapy, cognitive and control groups (five students per group). The experimental groups received eight sessions of meta-cognition and cognition therapies. The Spielberger Anxiety Inventory (1980) was used as pre-test and post-test measure. The results of covariance analysis indicated that the groups had significant differences in reducing test anxiety. The results of LSD post hoc tests indicated that the effectiveness of meta-cognitive therapy in reducing test anxiety is the same as cognitive therapy. Both meta-cognitive and cognitive therapy groups showed greater reduction in test anxiety than the control group. Given the prevalence of test anxiety, using a combination of existing therapies (cognitive and meta-cognitive) may be a very effective treatment approach.