Anxiety and thinking styles

Abstract

The primary objective of this study was to examine the predictive power of thinking styles for anxiety. Three hundred and seventy-eight university students from mainland China responded to the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised II. Results showed that, in general, creativity-generating styles (also known as Type I styles) and the external style (a preference for working with others as opposed to working alone) were negatively related to anxiety, whereas the conservative style was positively related to anxiety. Moreover, the hierarchical style (one of the Type I styles) and the external style negatively predicted anxiety beyond sex, whereas the conservative style did so positively. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to university students, faculty members, and university senior managers. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.