Table 3.
Items identified by item-wise PCA in Study 1 for each of 5 principal components: test, math, science/quantitative, trait, and writing.
| Factor | Survey | Item | PC 1 | PC 2 | PC 3 | PC 4 | PC 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test anxiety | STABS | Having a test returned | 0.77 | 0.08 | 0.01 | 0.07 | −0.01 |
| STABS | Being in class waiting for my corrected test to be returned | 0.82 | 0.15 | 0.21 | 0.07 | −0.06 | |
| STABS | Studying for a test the night before. | 0.79 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.14 | 0.00 | |
| STABS | Waiting for a test to be handed out | 0.79 | 0.06 | 0.03 | 0.08 | 0.05 | |
| STABS | Waiting to see my letter grade on the test | 0.81 | 0.06 | −0.09 | 0.07 | 0.07 | |
| STABS | Studying for a midterm | 0.79 | 0.08 | 0.11 | 0.05 | −0.01 | |
| STABS | Studying for a final | 0.80 | 0.11 | 0.09 | 0.07 | 0.00 | |
| STABS | Reviewing study materials the night before an exam | 0.81 | 0.16 | 0.07 | 0.02 | −0.01 | |
| STABS | Thinking about a coming exam the night before its scheduled date | 0.85 | 0.05 | −0.13 | 0.10 | 0.04 | |
| STABS | Thinking about a coming exam the hour before its scheduled date | 0.77 | 0.11 | 0.09 | 0.05 | −0.03 | |
| Math anxiety/attitudes | MAT | Mathematics is less important to people than art or literature | −0.34 | −0.75 | 0.03 | 0.07 | −0.06 |
| MAT | Mathematics helps develop a person's mind and teaches him to think | −0.26 | −0.79 | 0.16 | 0.03 | −0.07 | |
| MAT | Mathematics is very interesting, and I have usually enjoyed courses in this subject | −0.24 | −0.80 | 0.10 | 0.01 | −0.10 | |
| MAS | I am sure I could do advanced work in mathematics [R] | 0.24 | 0.76 | 0.01 | 0.11 | 0.02 | |
| MAS | I think I could handle more difficult mathematics [R] | 0.27 | 0.78 | −0.04 | 0.03 | 0.00 | |
| MAS | I'm not good at math | 0.34 | 0.76 | −0.06 | 0.02 | 0.06 | |
| MAS | For some reason even though I study, math seems unusually hard for me | 0.33 | 0.75 | −0.07 | 0.01 | 0.07 | |
| MAS | Mathematics is enjoyable and stimulating to me [R] | 0.25 | 0.82 | −0.05 | −0.06 | 0.07 | |
| MAS | Figuring out mathematical problems does not appeal to me | 0.26 | 0.77 | −0.06 | 0.02 | 0.01 | |
| MAS | I do as little math a possible | 0.28 | 0.80 | 0.07 | 0.01 | 0.05 | |
| Quantitative/Science anxiety | SAQ-S | Cooling down a hot tub of water to an appropriate temperature for a bath [NS] | 0.21 | 0.08 | 0.70 | −0.01 | 0.00 |
| SAQ-NS | Focusing the lens on your camera [NS] | 0.14 | 0.03 | 0.70 | 0.03 | −0.04 | |
| SAQ-S | Using a thermometer in order to record the boiling point of a heating solution | 0.19 | 0.05 | 0.67 | 0.09 | 0.05 | |
| SAQ-NS | You want to vote on an upcoming referendum on student activities fees, and you are reading about it so that you might make an informed choice [NS] | 0.27 | −0.03 | 0.62 | 0.04 | −0.10 | |
| SAQ-NS | Filling your bicycle tires with the right amount of air [NS] | 0.23 | 0.00 | 0.62 | 0.09 | −0.03 | |
| SAQ-S | Mixing boiling water and ice to get water at 70 degrees Fahrenheit | 0.24 | 0.07 | 0.62 | 0.04 | 0.07 | |
| SAQ-S | Focusing a microscope | 0.18 | 0.08 | 0.65 | 0.09 | 0.03 | |
| MAS | Studying mathematics is just as appropriate for women as for men [R] | −0.10 | 0.16 | 0.64 | −0.06 | −0.08 | |
| MARS | Adding 976 + 777 on paper | 0.31 | 0.16 | 0.63 | 0.02 | −0.04 | |
| MARS | Reading a cash register receipt | 0.26 | 0.11 | 0.64 | 0.04 | −0.07 | |
| Trait anxiety | NEO-EXT | I am not a cheerful optimist [R] | −0.11 | −0.12 | 0.08 | −0.66 | 0.03 |
| NEO-EXT | I am a cheerful, high-spirited person | −0.05 | −0.07 | 0.14 | −0.69 | 0.08 | |
| NEO-NEU | Sometimes I feel completely worthless | 0.23 | 0.05 | −0.01 | 0.71 | −0.02 | |
| NEO-NEU | Too often, when things go wrong, I get discouraged and feel like giving up | 0.23 | 0.21 | −0.02 | 0.72 | −0.07 | |
| STAI | I feel pleasant [R] | 0.01 | 0.10 | 0.02 | 0.72 | −0.08 | |
| STAI | I feel like crying | 0.15 | 0.07 | −0.03 | 0.70 | −0.08 | |
| STAI | I wish I could be as happy as others seem to be | 0.06 | 0.04 | −0.08 | 0.75 | −0.07 | |
| STAI | I am losing out on things because I can't make up my mind soon enough | 0.05 | 0.10 | 0.03 | 0.66 | −0.06 | |
| STAI | I feel rested [R] | 0.04 | 0.08 | 0.07 | 0.67 | −0.02 | |
| STAI | Some important thought runs through my mind and bothers me | 0.14 | 0.08 | 0.00 | 0.74 | 0.03 | |
| Writing anxiety | WA | I look forward to writing down my ideas [R] | −0.02 | 0.06 | −0.01 | 0.01 | 0.74 |
| WA | I am afraid of writing essays when I know they will be evaluated [R] | −0.07 | 0.03 | −0.17 | −0.14 | 0.76 | |
| WA | Handing in a composition makes me feel good [R] | 0.00 | 0.11 | −0.04 | −0.11 | 0.78 | |
| WA | Expressing ideas through writing seems to be a waste of time. | −0.06 | 0.08 | 0.01 | −0.14 | 0.74 | |
| WA | Writing is a lot of fun [R] | 0.00 | 0.08 | 0.03 | −0.09 | 0.80 | |
| WA | I like seeing my thoughts on paper [R] | 0.09 | 0.03 | 0.00 | −0.10 | 0.81 | |
| WA | Discussing my writing with others is enjoyable [R] | 0.03 | 0.02 | −0.08 | −0.11 | 0.79 | |
| WA | I have a terrible time organizing my ideas in a composition course | −0.02 | 0.09 | 0.00 | −0.09 | 0.84 | |
| WA | When I hand in a composition, I know I'm going do to poorly | −0.08 | 0.02 | −0.04 | −0.07 | 0.79 | |
| WA | I don't like my compositions to be evaluated | −0.05 | 0.09 | −0.06 | −0.03 | 0.77 |
Ten items with highest loadings for each of five components (PC1: Test, PC2: Math, PC3: Science/Precision. PC4: Trait, PC5: Writing) identified by varimax-rotated PCA with all items (data from main sample, N = 285). These items were used to construct the 10-item reduced component scales. [R] indicates that item is reverse-scored in the original scale. PCA loadings >0.5 depicted in bold to illustrate items that have high loadings on a particular component.