ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an integrated research model combining anxiety, motivation, and ability into a common conceptual unit. Interestingly enough, the conceptual plan is based on research on ability and problem solving. The chapter shows that its common features are very relevant to basic conceptualizations in test anxiety and related constructs. It presents a brief outline of the model; for a more comprehensive presentation the reader is referred to Raaheim. One of the major purposes of test anxiety research has been to improve the understanding of the academic cognitive performance of students. In educational psychology it is a common observation that intelligence and cognitive performance, as revealed by scores on tests of mathematics, are correlated positively. The implicit concept of intelligence emphasizes the human capability to see various situations as being basically similar in spite of variations in external features. The new findings have to be attributed to the present performance process approach.
