Example: This essay argues that in general, test anxiety lowers performance slightly, although this is not evident in all situations, nor with all types of students. Further, it is argued that the main mechanism for this result appears to be that test anxiety leads to the development of interfering thoughts, which prevent a proper focus on examination tasks. The essay also points out that although many factors impact on examination performance, test anxiety is of particular interest as it appears to lead directly to unfair results.