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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 1978)
Study hopes to cure students of test phobia By MICHAEL BRAND Of the Emerald Test anxiety is a learned be havior that comes as a result of taking tests, says Waris Ishaq, doctoral candidate in the University’s educational psychol ogy department. “Anything that is learned can be unlearned,” he says. It is upon this premise that Ishaq is basing his doctoral research in test anxiety. Starting this week, Ishaq will conduct a study of more than 60 University students to determine which procedures are best for overcoming test anxiety. The study will involve giving a pre-test, post-test and several variable sets of procedures to randomly as signed students. If one procedure proves to be most successful, he adds, stu dents who underwent other pro cedures will be invited to come back for another session. By participating in his experi ment, Ishaq says students “will be able to control and remove inter fering test anxiety.” In order to qualify, students must be seniors who will be taking the Miller Analogies Test or the Graduate Record Exam during the 1978-79 year. Candidates must be US native-born, native English speaking and Anglo American. “I want to avoid any variances that are accountable to linguistic or cultural variety,” Ishaq exp lains. To aid minority students who will be taking the MAT or GRE tests, Ishaq will offer a follow-up study after the original is com pleted. He says the test procedures will be modified to account for cultural differences. He will offer a session in Spanish for Chicano students. Ishaq says the conditions under which tests are given can prove to cause anxiety. He cites the GRE as an exam ple. The test is usually given in a large, warm hall with a hundred or more other students all regimen tally facing the front, Ishaq says. Empty seats are left between stu dents, no talking is allowed and the clock is watched to keep track of time, he adds. Ishaq says a student who suf fers debilitating anxiety under Graphic by Tom Ettel those conditions would do much better if he or she took the same test alone in a cool, well-lighted office with soft FM music on in the background. Ishaq says he himself used to suffer from test anxiety, so he will use that personal experience to help students. Besides doing doctoral work at the University, Ishaq has a private practice in behavioral and emo tional counseling. He says most of his counseling work deals with families trying to cope with stress and anxiety. Before his involvement with educational psychology, Ishaq was a journalist who covered World War II and revolutions in Egypt and Syria. He was also a member of the Turkish press de legation to the U.N. Interested students should con tact Evelyn Rowe, psychometrist at the University Counseling Center in 150 Susan Campbell Hall. Weinstein vows recall fight Claiming he is neither “in capacitated nor corrupt,” Lane County Commissioner Archie Weinstein has presented his op position to a measure that would recall him from office. In a prepared statement that will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot with the recall measure, Weinstein said his fight for the “little guy” against special interests was a reason for the recall. The statement was presented Friday afternoon to county elec tions officer Don Penfold. It came three days before the deadline for Weinstein to present a statement in his defense or resign from of fice. The recall effort began three weeks ago when Jan Newton and Roscoe Caron, both of Eugene, filed the necessary petition with the elections division. Newton and Caron said Weinstein was at fault for “failure to properly perform his elected duties” as the reason for the recall. Weinstein, in his ballot state ment, disagreed with that reason. “I knew that if I was true to my commitments that I would incur the wrath of certain special in terest groups,” Weinstein said. “One such group—led by a per son whose federally funded CETA job was eliminated—instituted this recall," he said. Weinstein said he had per formed his elected duties to the best of his “God-given abilities.” However, Weinstein’s view of the recall procedure is confused, a recall representative said Mon day. Ken Miller, a member of the Citizens Cooperating to Recall Weinstein committee, said being “incapacitated or corrupt” has no thing to do with the recall meas ure. That definition only fits im peachment proceedings. “Recall is a special political tool to throw any politicain out of office for almost any reason,” Miller exp lained. Unpopularity, misue of of fice or abrasiveness are all valid reasons for any recall, he said. 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Jim Weaver, Democratic Incumbent vs. Jerry Lausman, Republican Challenger Non-u the_Press' format debate with -nenny Willis, Eugene Register-Guard -Fred Webb, KATR Radio -Kevin Harden, Oregon Daily Emerald -Bryce Zable, KVAL-TV as questioners. Issues to be discussed: * Foreign Affairs * Defense Public Lands - Wilderness or Timber? Economy and Taxation TUESDAY OCTOBER 24th NOON DAD’S ROOM - EMU Presented by ASUO State Affairs
