Learning strategies, learning anxiety and knowledge acquisition.

In a study of adult technical trainees, it was found that four reported learning strategies were significantly associated with learning gain: Rehearsal, Interpersonal Help-seeking, Emotion Control and Motivation Control. However, all those associations were negative. A prior measure of learning anxiety (but not learning ability or learning motivation) was shown to account for that pattern, and several learning strategies and learning anxiety were found to interact in predicting knowledge change: associations between a strategy and learning were more positive for less anxious individuals. Research into learning strategies needs to examine additional variables (such as anxiety), and to look beyond the school and college settings typically investigated.