During an exam, students' expectancy for success decreased and the change in expectancy was negatively associated with change in salivary cortisol¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Graham et al. (2023) found students' expectancy for success decreased during an exam, and this change was negatively associated with the change in cortisol, a physiological indicator of anxiety. → Törmänen 2025

Evidence¶

Törmänen 2025¶

Törmänen, T., Ketonen, E., Lehtoaho, E., Turunen, M., Zabolotna, K., Shubina, T., & Järvenoja, H. (2025). Situational Motivation in Academic Learning: A Systematic Review. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-10036-0

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review reports this single physiological study, which combined self-reports with salivary cortisol during an exam: "the change in expectancy for success was negatively associated with the change in cortisol." The review attributes the finding to Graham et al. (2023).

"The results revealed that students' expectancy for success decreased during the exam and the change in expectancy for success was negatively associated with the change in cortisol (Graham et al., 2023)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

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