SCIENCE ANXIETY REDUCTION: A LECTURE/WORKSHOP
Jeffry V. Mallow
Department of Physics, Loyola University Chicago
Chicago, Illinois 60626, U.S.A.
jvm@lucpue. physics. iuc.edu.

ABSTRACT

The role played by science anxiety in causing and maintaining gender differences in science
learning has become a topic of increasing interest (Beyer, 1991; Chiarelott and Czerniak
1985; Mallow, 1987, 1994.  Gender differences transcend national boundaries (Mallow,
1994), with females expressing science anxiety in significantly greater proportions than
males.  Since science anxiety was first identified, two thirds of the enrollers in the OScience
Anxiety ClinicO founded to alleviate that anxiety have been female (Mallow, 1987). Thus it
would seem appropriate to disseminate the techniques developed for science anxiety
reduction (Mallow, 1986) as widely as possible.  These have worked well for females and
males in the U.S., and many of them should be applicable to other countries as well.

An effective format for teaching science anxiety reduction is the combined lecture/
workshop (2 to 3 hours).  Participants would learn the techniques, and then actively
practice them.  They would discuss the applicability of the various techniques to their own
cultures.  Materials would be distributed, so that participants could develop science anxiety
reduction workshops in their home countries.

I. INTRODUCTION

The identification of the phenomenon known as Oscience anxietyO and the founding of the
first Science Anxiety Clinic to alleviate this fear (Mallow, 1978) predate much of the
research which has demonstrated gender-related differences in performance and interest in
science.  Nevertheless, it soon became clear to directors and facilitators of such OclinicsO at
American schools and universities that most of the clientele was female, outnumbering males
typically by a factor of two or more.  This phenomenon of greater science anxiety among
females begins early: age 8 or lower (Chiarelott and Czerniak 1985, 1987) and is not unique
to the United States (Beyer 1991, 1992; Beyer et al, 1988; Mallow, 1993, 1994).

It also became evident that the techniques developed for reducing science anxiety were
effective for both females and males (Alvaro, 1978; Fuller et al, 1985; Greenburg and
Mallow, 1982; Hermes, 1985; Mallow, 1986).  The remainder of this paper describes these
techniques, and provides the basis for a workshop for teachers and counsellors who wish to
help students overcome their fear of science.

II.  SCIENCE ANXIETY REDUCTION

OScience anxietyO may be defined as a debilitating interaction of emotion„fear, with
cognition„science learning.  It usually manifests itself as a crippling panic on examinations
and tests in science courses, but it is quite distinct from general test or performance anxiety. 
Students suffering from science anxiety tend to be quite calm and productive in their
conscience courses, including their mathematics courses. In fact, the anxiety about science
begins long before the student faces a science test: it is an amalgam of her preconceptions
about her ability to do science, her sense of science as appropriate  for her, lacunae in her
early science education, attitudes of her teachers and school counselors„including in many
cases their own science anxiety„, expectations of her parents and peers, and a variety of
other factors (Mallow, 1986).

Science anxiety reduction, in order to be effective, must address this complex mixture of
cognitive, emotional and behavioral issues.  The techniques we developed in the Science
Anxiety Clinic do this by blending three separate approaches:
** science skills learning, 
** cognitive restructuring
** systematic desensitization

In the Clinic setting, there are normally two facilitators: a science teachers and a
psychological counsellor, working with a group of 6 to 10 students, for about two hours a
week, over an 8-week period.  However, these techniques can be used by a single facilitators
and/or a single student, over variable time frames ( but we think 8 weeks is the minimum).

A. Science skills learning

We cannot assume that a student enters a science class at the high school, gymnasium, or
university level, with the requisite skills already learned.  Frequently, students in the lower
classes have been taught only the skill of memorization, which is not effective in
understanding science.  They must therefore be taught, for example, that we need to read
science differently from history or literature (Mallow, 1991); that there are particular
techniques for organizing and solving word problem; that there are special ways to take
notes in science classes, to perform effectively in science laboratories, and to take tests and
examinations.  Females in particular need to recognize that their learning depends on asking
questions in and out of class, and that they must have Ôhands-onÕ laboratory experiences. 
(There are things we all know - but our students donÔt!)

B. Cognitive restructuring

The basis of this psychological technique for anxiety reduction (Ellis, 1962) is the insight
that such things as physics problems or chemistry laboratories are not intrinsically
anxiety-producing. Rather, they are the stimuli for negative self statements, which students
tell themselves (usually unconsciously), such as, ÔNo matter how hard I study, I will never
understand scienceÕ, ÔScience is not for girlsÕ, ÔEvery one understands it but me.Õ  These self
statements mediate between the stimulus and the anxiety response.  Cognitive restructuring
is a technique for getting students to recognize their negative self statements, focus on the
irrational beliefs which lie behind them, and then replace them with objective, emotionally
neutral coping statements.

Many exercises can be used simultaneously for science learning and cognitive restructuring. 
Word problems, for example, can provide a way of teaching effective problem solving, while
at the same time act as the stimulus to evoke studentsÔ negative self-statements and beliefs
about their problem solving abilities.

C. Systematic Desensitization

While science skills learning attacks the cognitive deficiencies which students bring with
them, and cognitive restructuring provides insights into the unconscious messages which
provoke science anxiety, systematic desensitization is a behavioral modification technique
which trains students to relax their bodies in anxiety-producing situations.  It consists of
two components: progressive relaxation and desensitization to a self-generated anxiety
hierarchy.  Progressive relaxation (Jacobson, 1938) involves training students to relax each
of a large variety of muscle groups upon command, given by either of a facilitators or an
audio tape.  Students learn these techniques and practice them at home.  At the same time,
they develop a Oscience anxiety hierarchyO: a list of about 10 to 12 science- related events,
ordered from low to high anxiety.  A typical low-anxiety event would be ÔYou look through
your science textbookÕ.  a medium anxiety event might be ÔYou read a chapter and canÔt
relate it to the class lecturesÕ.  And a high anxiety event could be ÔYou look at the exam and
canÔt think of how to do any of the problems.Õ At each session, the facilitators has the
students relax their muscle groups, then presents two or three of these items, starting from
the lowest and monitoring whether the relaxation is maintained.  Only when it is, does the
facilitators go on the next higher item. In our experience, a 12 item hierarchy can be
completed in about 6 weeks.

III. RESEARCH RESULTS

Studies were carried out on students at the Loyola University Science Anxiety Clinic
(Alvaro, 1978; Hermes, 1985) to assess its effectiveness.  A variety of instruments were
used, including four questionnaires: a Math Anxiety Rating scale (Richardson and Suinn,
1972), a science anxiety measure developed at Loyola (Alvaro, 1978), a general anxiety
measure (Spielberger et al., 1970), and a general academic test anxiety measure (Alpert and
Haber, 1960).  In addition, the studentsÔ muscle tension was measured by electromyography
while they imagined science anxiety hierarchy items.  These studies demonstrated that the
techniques used were extremely in lowering studentsÔ science anxiety.  Anecdotal evidence
from former Clinic students has been equally encouraging, and personally gratifying : most
recently  one of these students invited me to a ceremony in honour of her receiving the Ph.D.
in medical physics.

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