Utilization of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) to reduce test anxiety in high stakes testing

Randomized trial⚖️ vs. guided imageryModerate rigor✓ Source-checked📍 United States

In plain English. Nursing students preparing for their licensing exam were randomly assigned to EFT or guided imagery to manage test anxiety. Both approaches lowered momentary distress, but EFT specifically improved students' sense that anxiety was interfering with memory and recall - guided imagery did not show that same specific benefit and even trended slightly worse on end-of-study anxiety perception. This dissertation offers a rare head-to-head comparison of EFT against another self-help relaxation technique for high-stakes testing.

What they found

SUDS ratings decreased significantly pre- to post-treatment in both groups, and the EFT group showed a statistically significant improvement on the Westside Test Anxiety incapacity (memory) subscale specifically.

How the study worked

Who took partnursing students in an NCLEX-RN review course

What they didIn a randomized controlled trial, participants were randomly assigned to receive tapping or a comparison condition, then measured and compared.

Compared withguided imagery

Measured withTest Anxiety Inventory (TAI), Westside Test Anxiety Scale, Subjective Units of Disturbance Scale (SUDS), blood pressure

⭐ Why this study matters

Most test-anxiety studies compare tapping only against doing nothing. This one is unusual because it pits tapping directly against another well-known self-help relaxation technique, guided imagery, in a randomized head-to-head design. That kind of active comparison is sturdier evidence than a waitlist, and here tapping showed a specific edge on the sense that anxiety was interfering with memory and recall.

💡 Where this could help

If tapping's edge on the memory-interference measure holds up in future trials, it points to a tool for the moment that matters most in high-stakes testing, the hour before the exam, something a nursing student, or any test-taker, could use alone with zero preparation or cost.

🔬 What to study next

Given blood pressure was already tracked here, a natural next step is to also monitor it continuously through the actual exam, not just before, to see whether a calmer baseline translates into steadier physiology during the highest-pressure moments of test-taking. Extending the same guided-imagery-versus-tapping comparison to cortisol and heart rate variability, and to other high-stakes settings like bar exams, licensing boards, or timed job interviews, could show whether tapping's edge is specific to memory-related anxiety or a broader physiological advantage.

The full record

Design	Randomized trial
Population	nursing students in an NCLEX-RN review course
Comparison group	guided imagery
Outcome measures	Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI), Westside Test Anxiety Scale, Subjective Units of Disturbance Scale (SUDS), blood pressure
Journal	Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences
Year	2014
Country	United States
Language	English
Method	EFT / tapping
Publication type	Dissertation
Verification	✓ Confirmed against the primary source

Read the original study →

Cite this study

APA

Mohler, M. (2014). Utilization of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) to reduce test anxiety in high stakes testing. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences.

This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping. Explore more studies on Test Anxiety & Students