The effect of choice between test anxiety treatment options on treatment outcomes

Evidence regarding the effect of clients' choice of treatment on treatment outcome is inconsistent. This possible effect was examined by presenting participants with two treatments of test anxiety: advanced muscle relaxation and changing of internal dialogue. Clients (N=73) were allocated to three groups: choice (participants chose their preferred treatment), no choice (participants were assigned to their preferred treatment but were led to believe they couldn't choose the treatment they were assigned to), and wait-list control (participants received no treatment until the end of the study). There was a significant linear pattern, with the choice group performing better than the no-choice group with no feeling of control, which in turn performed better than the control group. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.