Jacobson’s relaxation technique to reduce anxiety caused by exams and increased academic performance in psychology students from a private university in Metropolitan Limas

Abstract

 This research brings up that anxiety is a factor commonly experienced by students in times of exams, and that it has negative influence on the grades obtained. Consequently, this study aims at verifying the effectiveness of the progressive muscle relaxation technique in order to reduce anxiety during exams and increased academic performance. For this purpose, 292 Psychology students from a university in Metropolitan Lima were selected, one and then divided randomly into one experimental group (136) and control group (156). A record sheet was used to log their pulse, as well as to register subjective units of distress, before and after the technique was applied. The results show the effectiveness of the technique to reduce anxiety by 78.4%. In addition, an inverse correlation was found between anxiety and academic performance, albeit not significant.