Cognitive ability, exam-related emotions and exam performance: A field study in a college setting Charlie L. Reeve a,⇑,1 , Silvia Bonaccio b,1 , Eboni C. Winford a a Health Psychology Program, University of North Carolina Charlotte, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001, United States b Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, 55 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada article info Article history: Available online 14 March 2014 Keywords: Achievement related emotions Cognitive ability Test related emotions Test anxiety abstract Using lab and field data, this paper investigates (a) the degree to which pre- and post-exam positive and negative achievement emotions and cognitive ability are uniquely and jointly associated with exam per- formance and (b) the degree to which exam performance influences subsequent post-exam emotions. Based on a sample of 102 students, results show that ability influences exam performance both directly and indirectly via pre-exam emotions. Also, ability and distraction interact to influence performance such that ability has a buffering effect. Distraction has a significant deleterious effect on performance for low ability students, but does not disrupt performance for high ability students. Moreover, positive emotions facilitate performance by decreasing distraction whereas negative emotions hinder performance by increasing it. Finally, results show that the exam itself has a significant impact on post-exam positive and negative emotions, even when controlling for pre-exam emotions. Results are discussed in terms of the emerging research on achievement emotions beyond test anxiety. Ó 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Given the high-stakes nature of decisions based in part on test scores, and the potential impact that test results may have on an individual’s self-esteem or other self-perceptions, it is not surpris- ing that testing is an emotionally charged event (Pekrun, Goetz, Titz, & Perry, 2002; Zeidner, 1998). Traditionally, most of the focus has been on negative emotions—in particular, test anxiety—experi- enced during, or as a consequence of, testing. Indeed, as of Decem- ber 2013, a search on PsychINFO revealed over to 3500 entries when using ‘‘test anxiety’’ as a key word. However, recent research estimates that test anxiety accounts for fewer than 30% of achieve- ment-related emotional episodes experienced before, during and after exams (Pekrun & Stephens, 2010). In addition, there are sev- eral positive emotions that may actually facilitate performance or that may be a result of the testing experience. Unfortunately, these other achievement-related emotions have not been well studied leaving our understanding of their relationship to test performance wanting (Pekrun et al., 2002). Similarly, there is little evidence con- cerning how achievement emotions are influenced by, or influence, other determinants of test performance, such as general mental ability, and the occurrence of distracting thoughts. As such, the purpose of this paper is to investigate (a) the degree to which po- sitive and negative achievement emotions (experienced immedi- ately before taking a college exam) and cognitive ability are uniquely and jointly associated with exam performance, and (b) the degree to which exam performance influences subsequent post-exam emotional states. 2. A broader focus: test-related emotions other than test anxiety In the context of achievement, emotions have a ‘‘diagnostic va- lue, because their intensity and quality reveal how people think they are managing what is important to them’’ (Folkman & Lazarus, 1985, p. 152). Achievement-related emotions are defined as ‘‘emo- tions that are tied directly to achievement activities (e.g., studying) or achievement outcomes (success and failure)’’ (Pekrun & Ste- phens, 2010; p. 239). Achievement-related emotions are heteroge- neous in nature, but can be stratified across two dimensions; namely, valence and activation/arousal (Feldman, 1995; Pekrun et al., 2004). Valence refers to the perceived pleasantness of the emotion (i.e., its ‘‘hedonic quality,’’ Feldman, 1995, p. 153) ranging from positive (e.g., joy, relief or pride) to negative (e.g., anger, shame or anxiety). Activation refers to the degree of arousal or http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2014.03.001 0361-476X/Ó 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author. Address: Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001, United States. E-mail address: clreeve@uncc.edu (C.L. Reeve). 1 The first two authors contributed equally. Contemporary Educational Psychology 39 (2014) 124–133 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Contemporary Educational Psychology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cedpsych