Examining the Roles of Teaching Style and Social Comparison in Academic Anxiety

Yiqing Sun

2025

Abstract

Academic anxiety is a multidimensional phenomenon developing under multiple influences in academic environments. The present study explores how teaching style and social comparison together shape students’ academic anxiety. Drawing on multiple empirical studies, this article addresses when shifts from autonomy-supportive to controlling teaching styles influence learners’ engagement, motivation, and emotional functioning. Meanwhile, it also investigates how social comparison, especially upward and downward comparisons, affects students’ self-concept and responses to stress. The findings showed that autonomy-supportive teaching styles might foster curiosity and self-efficacy, which reduce anxiety, whereas the controlling or neglectful ones make students perceive higher levels of pressure. Upward social comparisons often raise feelings of inadequacy and fear, while downward comparisons sometimes alleviate anxiety. These findings highlight the importance of supportive teacher-student relationships, peer comparison awareness, and a balanced academic load. They also suggest that combining inclusive teaching with social comparison awareness effectively alleviates academic anxiety and improves learners’ psychological well-being. Further research should explore these processes across diverse cultural contexts, specific student subgroups, and innovative technologies for personalized support and real-time feedback.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Sun Y. (2025). Examining the Roles of Teaching Style and Social Comparison in Academic Anxiety. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Applied Psychology and Marketing Management - Volume 1: APMM; ISBN 978-989-758-791-7, SciTePress, pages 184-192. DOI: 10.5220/0014110800004942

in Bibtex Style

@conference{apmm25,
author={Yiqing Sun},
title={Examining the Roles of Teaching Style and Social Comparison in Academic Anxiety},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Applied Psychology and Marketing Management - Volume 1: APMM},
year={2025},
pages={184-192},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0014110800004942},
isbn={978-989-758-791-7},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Applied Psychology and Marketing Management - Volume 1: APMM
TI - Examining the Roles of Teaching Style and Social Comparison in Academic Anxiety
SN - 978-989-758-791-7
AU - Sun Y.
PY - 2025
SP - 184
EP - 192
DO - 10.5220/0014110800004942
PB - SciTePress