Computer Anxiety and Computer-Based Training: A Laboratory Experiment

Seventy-four undergraduate students voluntarily participated in a laboratory experiment involving the learning of WordStar, a personal computer word processing software package. The experiment constituted a 2X2X2 factorial design; two levels of computer anxiety (based on a pre-experimental questionnaire), two types of training (lecture/demonstration versus self-paced tutorial) and a matching/nonmatching of personal preference for a particular leaning mode. Results indicated that pre-experimental computer anxiety directly affected post-experimental computer anxiety, number of questions asked during training and future intentions to avoid using WordStar. Type of training affected the number of questions asked and marginally influenced the number of errors. Preferred choice of training demonstrated no main effects but did interact with the other independent variables.