Examining the Roles of Teaching Style and Social Comparison in
Academic Anxiety
Yiqing Sun
School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Newcastle
University, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 7RU, U.K.
Keywords: Academic Anxiety, Teaching Style, Social Comparison, Teacher-Student Relationships, Student Motivation.
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.
1 INTRODUCTION
Academic anxiety is increasingly becoming one of
the primary concerns in educational psychology, as it
affects students' academic performance, emotional
well-being, and long-term development. Academic
anxiety is defined by apprehension, tension, and fear
that occur in situations related to school (Gonzaga et
al. 2022); it may jeopardize the socio-cognitive
growth of students, thereby contributing to students'
negative self-assessment and reduced motivation
(Brumariu et al. 2023). Existing literature reveals that
the manifestation of academic anxiety extends well
beyond mere nervousness about assessments: it
encompasses ongoing worries about personal
competence, future outcomes, and peer comparisons,
thereby shaping how students perceive themselves
within academic environments (Palaroan, 2024).
In spite of the voluminous literature, two factors
have come into the spotlight: teaching style and social
comparison. On the one hand, teaching style refers to
the distinctive methods, attitudes, and behavioral
patterns that teachers employ; according to Jimola, it
is highly instrumental in either alleviating or
aggravating anxiety (Jimola, 2024). Studies show that
autonomy-supportive teaching fosters curiosity,
engagement, and self-efficacy (Inayat & Ali, 2020),
whereas controlling or neglectful teaching styles risk
eroding students’ intrinsic motivation (Ginsburg et al,
2022). On the other hand, social comparison emerges
as another key dimension, influencing how students
gauge their own abilities relative to peers (Buunk &
Gibbons, 2007). More precisely, upward comparisons
further increase feelings of inadequacy, while
downward comparisons may in some situations
decrease academic distress (Hong et al, 2022).
However, how exactly these two factors-teaching
style and social comparison-interact is not well
examined, especially in their combined impact on
academic anxiety.
Various previous studies seize aspects of the
problem. For example, Salter et al. underscore the
significance of supportive and warm relationships
between teachers and students in reducing anxiety
(Salter et al, 2024), while Xu and Li address the
aspects through which social comparison may
enhance self-evaluative concerns (Xu & Li, 2024).
All the same, there is still a need for more integrated
184
Sun, Y.
Examining the Roles of Teaching Style and Social Comparison in Academic Anxiety.
DOI: 10.5220/0014110800004942
Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Applied Psychology and Marketing Management (APMM 2025), pages 184-192
ISBN: 978-989-758-791-7
Proceedings Copyright © 2026 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda.

research that will outline how these two domains are
combined in influencing students' psychological
well-being. The close association of anxiety with
academic outcomes makes it an intersection whose
understanding is of practical importance to educators,
parents, and policymakers alike.
Against this backdrop, the present study will
explore how teaching style and social comparison
interactively contribute to the emergence and
development of academic anxiety. Synthesizing
insights from prior empirical investigations and
theoretical discussions, this study will seek to: (1)
identify how certain teaching approaches can either
mitigate or exacerbate anxiety, (2) explain the
mechanisms through which social comparison may
amplify or buffer stress among students, and (3)
suggest recommendations for effective interventions
in diverse educational settings. This research informs
both the existing literature and the patterns defined
from relevant studies explored in the next sections
through a multi-step process. In tune with this
integrated perspective, the paper will attempt to elicit
a deeper understanding of the roots of academic
anxiety and, concurrently, provide a strategy that will
help improve learning experiences and emotional
well-being among students.
2 INTRODUCTION TO
RESEARCH SUBJECTS
Academic anxiety is a multi-dimensional concept.
Academic anxiety depends on the teaching style of
the teacher; it also has a close relationship with social
comparison. This section will elaborate on these
concepts in detail.
2.1 Concept of Academic Anxiety
It is a multifaceted concept embracing feelings of
tension, apprehension, and fear exhibited by students
in academic environments. According to Gonzaga et
al., academic anxiety encompasses forms of stress
and anxiety that students experience while studying
in school and other similar academic settings
(Gonzaga et al. 2022). This may be harmful to their
socio-cognitive development and inhibit their
learning skills, psychologically traumatizing them in
the process. Academic anxiety entails apprehension
of future academic testing, and includes self-
assessment as well as expectations about academic
performance.
Li and Palaroan indicate that the consistent
components in defining academic anxiety across
various domains are both emotional components and
cognitive evaluative components (Palaroan, 2024).
The emotional component pertains to negative
feelings of response by students when engaging
themselves in specific learning tasks and includes fear
and nervousness responses. For example, math
anxiety is defined as the helpless and pressurized
situations a student is in regarding mathematics
problems. The cognitive evaluative aspect generally
refers to apprehension regarding future performance
or evaluation. For instance, the definition of language
anxiety encompasses communication apprehension,
test anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation.
There is a strong relationship that exists between
academic anxiety and academic performance.
According to Brumariu et al., anxious children are at
a higher risk of facing study difficulties, and it has
been found that test anxiety, a specific type of
academic anxiety, relates negatively to the academic
performance of students (Brumariu et al. 2023).
Academic anxiety may also serve as a mediator
between clinical anxiety and academic performance,
influencing students' self-evaluation.
2.2 Concept of Teaching Style
Teaching style is a significant concept within
educational psychology, referring to a series of
methods and behavior patterns that teachers may
show while teaching and, therefore, essentially
influence the learning experiences and results. As
mentioned by Jimola, teaching style could be referred
to as original fashion in which teachers display
themselves while teaching and interacting with their
students, influenced by teachers' personal values,
beliefs, and personality traits related to education
(Jimola, 2024). Teaching style guides the process of
teaching and has impacts on students and their ways
of learning. Besides, Inayat and Ali mentioned in
their article that teaching style has a direct influence
on the engagement of students in learning (Inayat &
Ali, 2020). For example, an autonomous-supportive
teaching style can trigger intrinsic motivation in
students, while a controlling teaching style may result
in an increase in extrinsic motivation, where students
will learn for rewards. Moreover, teaching style is
also believed to be linked with students' curiosity and
inquisitiveness, for different teaching styles can
stimulate or suppress these traits in students.
Moreover, teaching style is a multidimensional
concept that includes how teachers teach, interact
with students, and evaluate the learning results of
Examining the Roles of Teaching Style and Social Comparison in Academic Anxiety
185

students. Jimola points out that a teacher's teaching
style can predict the academic achievements of
students, and affect their attitudes towards subjects
(Jimola, 2024). Therefore, research into and
understanding of teaching styles bear great
significance in promoting teaching quality and
helping students in their all-round development.
2.3 Concept of Social Comparison and
Its Categories
Social Comparison is the central concept in social
psychology that describes how individuals assess
their abilities and opinions by comparing themselves
to others. Leon Festinger, one of the great figures in
the field of social psychology, first introduced the
Social Comparison Theory in 1954. His theory
hypothesized that such social comparison gave a way
through which people can make an evaluation of their
opinions and abilities when there is some uncertainty.
In the field of educational psychology, social
comparison affects students' self-perception as well
as motivation, and may impact their academic anxiety
and performance (Buunk & Gibbons, 2007).
Social comparison can be divided, according to
the direction of comparison, into several types. Based
on the direction of comparison, Xu and Li further
classify social comparison into three, namely, parallel
comparisons, upward comparisons, and downward
comparisons (Xu & Li, 2024). Upward comparison
refers to the process in which individuals choose to
compare themselves with others who are superior in
certain aspects. Such comparisons could lead to
negative consequences in self-assessment, for
instance, an increase in negative feelings, which
would be harmful to mental health and a significant
contributing factor to social anxiety.
In educational settings, upward comparison
would imply students appraising their academic
performance against peers who are performing better
academically (Xu & Li, 2024). It is this upward
comparison that makes students feel a little less
adequate and stressed, enhancing their social anxiety
along with their academic anxiety. Accordingly,
understanding the various kinds of social comparison
and how it influences academic anxiety helps
researchers in educational psychology appreciate the
way students conceptualize the self during social
interplay and deal with related stresses and anxieties
over academic performances.
3 IMPACT OF TEACHING
STYLES ON ACADEMIC
ANXIETY
Teachers are a very active element in students'
processes of learning. Their teaching styles impact
students in terms of their academic achievements and
actually, very strongly, impact their psychic structure
as well. Over the years, more specifically with the
development in educational psychology, the impact
of teaching style on student anxiety has also become
under study. Anxiety in general cannot be related just
to consequences during school years but might have
seriously influential effects in later academics and
personal life.
Therefore, deeply understanding how different
teaching styles influence students' academic anxiety
and exploring the specific mechanisms through which
teaching styles alleviate or exacerbate academic
anxiety is of great importance to optimize teaching
methods and improve educational quality. The
following are some of the key studies in the research
area that explain the impact of teaching styles on
academic anxiety.
The first study, done by Inayat and Ali, related the
teaching styles to the students' engagement, curiosity,
and exploratory behavior (Inayat & Ali, 2020). This
study had a sample size of 402, which was drawn
from schools and universities. From the total, 173
school students had an age range between 13 and 17
years and 229 university students whose age range
was between 19 and 37 years. The present research
has used three questionnaires: the Perceived Parental
Autonomy Support Scale (P-PASS), the Student
Engagement Instrument, and the Curiosity and
Exploration Inventory. Thus, these tools are a means
of measurement for the perceptions of pupils about
the teacher's autonomy-supportive or controlling
teaching style and about students' engagement,
curiosity, and exploratory behavior. These findings
revealed that students' engagement and curiosity were
positively associated with autonomy-supportive
teaching styles, whereas controlling teaching styles
potentially undermined students' intrinsic motivation.
This also illustrates how teaching styles may affect
students' emotional states and behaviors, and, in turn,
potentially indirectly impact academic anxiety.
Similarly, Inada probed strategies which teachers
utilized in the foreign language classrooms to reduce
student anxiety while improving their communicative
ability (Inada, 2021). This study researched six
teachers on how they tackled anxiety to allow the
students to be in a better place in their
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communications. They recommended strategies like
a non-threatening class atmosphere, much oral
practice in English, and maximum exploitation of
class interaction dynamics that would work towards
diminishing the anxiety feeling among the students.
Although this study provides some concrete teaching
strategies, it is more specialized towards the context
of foreign language instruction.
The third study by Chen et al. explored the
associations between students' perceptions of
teachers' Academic Productivity Talk (APT) and
students' emotions and dialectical engagement (Chen
et al, 2020). The sample size in this study was 2,225
seventh- and eighth-grade students from 16 middle
schools in one Chinese city. Of these, 1,146 were
seventh graders and 1,079 were eighth graders. The
mean age was 11.87 years, with 52.4% males and
47.6% females. Quantitative data collection included
student questionnaires that had measures for students'
perceptions of teachers' APT, their classroom
emotions-both enjoyment and anxiety-and their
dialectical engagement with other students. Besides,
students' mathematics achievement tests were used,
together with questionnaires on student gender and
family resources. These findings supported the
positive relationship between teachers' APT and
students' dialectical engagement; students' emotions-
encompassing both enjoyment and anxiety-mediated
this relationship. This gives a new light into how
teaching styles influence academic anxiety through
emotional pathways.
Moreover, a recent study by Ginsburg et al.
involved 51 elementary school teachers aged between
23 and 63 years, with teaching experience ranging
from 0.5 to 33 years (Ginsburg et al, 2022). This wide
range in ages and teaching experiences makes the
sample more representative since it encompasses
different kinds of teachers. Most of the teachers had
limited training in alleviating anxiety among students.
On the whole, it would appear that anxiety coping
strategies among teachers themselves are lacking,
which might affect their ability to handle and reduce
anxiety among the students effectively. This study
examined the understanding of anxiety and evidence-
based anxiety reduction strategies in the classroom
among elementary teachers in detail. Data collection
was realized through questionnaires that probed
teachers' personal and professional backgrounds,
their background knowledge of anxiety and the
treatment of anxiety, such as core manifestations of
anxiety-physiological arousal, behavioral avoidance,
and anxious thoughts-and the strategies they actually
employed in the classroom for reducing anxiety, such
as relaxation techniques, encouraging coping self-
talk, and gradual exposure to feared situations. The
measurement instruments included a teacher
background form, the Teacher Anxiety Knowledge
Assessment (TKAA), the Classroom Strategies
Questionnaire, a Teacher Efficacy Belief Scale, and
an educator form of the Maslach Burnout Inventory
(MBI). While it was determined that teachers had
some degree of knowledge regarding anxiety, no
statistical relationship was seen between this and the
reported strategies used to reduce anxiety. This means
that although teachers are aware of anxiety, their
coping strategies are not applied well enough to cope
with anxiety in students, thereby potentially
increasing it. Therefore, teachers need further training
in raising their awareness of anxiety and,
consequently, how to effectively apply strategies
aimed at reducing anxiety in the classroom. The study
is important in trying to understand how teaching
styles influence students' anxiety levels, while it has
shown the probable disconnection between teachers'
knowledge and their practice.
Lastly, a similar study which also goes closely
with the topic under study is the systematic literature
review carried out by Salter et al. (Salter et al, 2024).
This review was a systematic evaluation according to
the guidelines of PRISMA and was given an
extensive review over how teacher-student
relationships (TSRs) affect student anxiety. Most
research findings identify that superior quality TSRs
result in lower anxiety among the students. More
specifically, TSRs that are perceived by students as
supportive, warm, and caring, corresponding to a
teaching style characterized by an authoritative
teaching style of high responsiveness and appropriate
levels of control or permissive teaching styles with
high responsiveness and low levels of control, are
associated with less anxiety, while those
characterized by dependency, motivational support,
conflict, or harassment correspondingly align with an
authoritarian teaching style of high control and low
responsiveness or neglectful styles of teaching with
low levels of control and responsiveness with
increased anxiety. This points to the fact that teaching
styles can contribute to the anxiety of students,
especially when it comes to creating a supportive and
encouraging learning environment.
In summary, this chapter has tried to explain how
teaching styles influence the students' academic
anxiety by these five major studies, all related to this
problem from different angles. While there were
some differences among the focus of their studies,
methodology, and limitations, several findings have
been commonly obtained. While Ginsburg et al.
focused on the understanding of anxiety by
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187

elementary teachers and their use of anxiety reduction
strategies (Ginsburg et al, 2022), Salter et al. present
a broader perspective by systematically reviewing the
impact of TSRs on middle school students' anxiety
(Salter et al, 2024). Inayat and Ali investigated how
teaching styles could affect engagement, curiosity,
and the exploratory behavior of students (Inayat &
Ali, 2020). Meanwhile, Inada considered the
activities taken by teachers that could help to
minimize anxiety in foreign language classes (Inada,
2021); Chen et al. conducted a similar investigation
into teachers' use of APT, relating this to student
feelings and engagement reflected by the students
themselves (Chen et al, 2020). These studies
employed various methods such as surveys, semi-
structured interviews, and a systematic literature
review, representing diverse research designs and
techniques of data analysis.
These studies altogether suggest that the teaching
style of teachers, especially the autonomy-supportive
and controlling style, influences the level of academic
anxiety among students to a great extent. Specifically,
teaching styles have been related to variables such as
student engagement, curiosity, exploratory behavior,
dialectical engagement, emotions including
enjoyment and anxiety, and self-efficacy. Positive
TSRs and supportive teaching styles may relate to
lower levels of anxiety in students, while controlling
teaching may be associated with increased anxiety in
students. For instance, autonomy-supportive teaching
styles relate positively to higher levels of engagement
and curiosity, increased dialectical engagement and
self-efficacy that may lower the levels of academic
anxiety. On the other hand, controlling teaching styles
may damage intrinsic motivation and increase anxiety
among students. Moreover, emotional support and
caring by teachers have been noted to enhance
students' self-efficacy and thereby reduce academic
anxiety. These findings highlight the critical role of
teachers in influencing students' psychological health
and academic performance.
Nevertheless, there are a number of limitations
and challenges in current research: most studies use
cross-sectional designs, which reduce the clarity of
the causal relationship, making it difficult to clearly
specify which causal links between teaching styles
and academic anxiety exist. Moreover, many have
been bound mostly to students from certain cultural
or educational backgrounds, with little comparative
cross-cultural research that might influence the
generalization of these findings. Also, mechanisms of
how teaching styles create certain influences on types
of academic anxieties, such as test anxiety or social
anxiety, have to be identified in further research.
4 IMPACT OF SOCIAL
COMPARISON ON ACADEMIC
ANXIETY
While competition in education is at a rise in the
modern atmosphere, social comparison has been one
of the prime influences to take hold of the student's
academic anxiety. Social comparison, too, bears
impacts beyond academics, where the issue is related
to social anxiety, self-esteem, and well-being.
Therefore, the impact of social comparison on
academic anxiety is of great significance to
understand the inner world of students, optimize
educational practices, develop effective
interventions, reduce students' psychological stress,
promote comprehensive development, and improve
student welfare.
This chapter will synthesize extant research into
the effects of social comparison on academic anxiety,
discussing findings according to different research
methods and theoretical perspectives. The following
studies provide deep insight and empirical data.
Pigart et al. investigated how the identity of
students influences their degree of Fear of Negative
Evaluation (FNE) and examined the mediating role
played by academic social comparison; the sample
population consisted of 909 undergraduate science
majors from 15 different research universities in the
United States (Pigart et al, 2024). Students' FNE and
Academic Social Comparison were measured by
adapted copies of the Brief Fear of Negative
Evaluation (BFNE) and the Social Comparison Scale
(SCS). It does explain how academic social
comparison mediates the association between student
identity and FNE, especially in those large university
science courses where there is a greater FNE for
women/non-binary and LGBTQ+ students due to
feelings of academically being inferior to their peers,
thus directly impacting their academic anxiety. It also
alludes to the need of reducing that fear of evaluation
in those specific groups, precisely so as to equalize
science opportunities.
Pulford et al. directed their efforts towards the
investigation of the academic self-confidence
concerning social comparison (Pulford et al, 2018).
The sample consisted of 325 students from the
University of Leicester, with 80 males and 245
females aged between 18 and 44 years old. Measuring
the student participants' tendencies to compare
themselves socially with others in educational
settings, the Academic Social Comparison Scale
(ASCS), as it was called, consisted of a 27-item scale.
The Individual Learning Profile (ILP) was another
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scale used in the research that measured the academic
self-confidence of the students. The ASCS scale
contains three subscales: downward comparison,
upward comparison, and no comparison while the
ILP scale contains ratings of self-confidence in six
academic areas. The results showed that downward
social comparison was relatively uncommon, as the
mean score of the items assessing it was 3.35 on a 7-
point scale, which is below the midpoint of 4,
indicating that generally students disagreed to make
such a comparison. Furthermore, this type of
comparison did not significantly relate to academic
self-confidence. On the contrary, those students who
revealed less social comparison demonstrated more
self-assuredness in reading, writing, and time
management skills. Furthermore, it turned out that
upward social comparison was actually undermining
the level of one's self-confidence, whereas lower
levels of social comparison tended to relate to high
academic self-confidence. Upward social comparison
is carried out by female students rather than male
ones. Finally, the research showed that higher
academic self-confidence may alleviate academic
anxiety; thus, students with stronger self-confidence
may experience less academic anxiety.
Okano and Nomura focused on upward social
comparison and the social anxiety of social
comparison, placing significant attention on the
moderating role of self-assessed social skills (Okano
& Nomura, 2023). According to the results, in the
case of subjects who showed low perceived levels in
the area of social skill self-assessment, upward social
comparison is associated with social anxiety
significantly; hence, providing supplementary
evidence for the relationship of social comparison to
academic anxiety.
Hong et al. conducted research with 90 junior high
school students in Taiwan, with an average age of
14.47 years (Hong et al, 2022). These were further
divided at random into three groups: No Comparison
Group (NCG), Upward Comparison Group (UCG),
and Downward Comparison Group (DCG). In the
study, three methods were designed for teaching
Chinese writing skills: in NCG, students
independently completed the composition; in UCG,
excellent composition samples were prepared for
students to write about on the same topic; and in
DCG, poor samples were prepared for students to
critique. Students composed writings on six topics in
five lessons. In the study, scales measured the
cognitive anxiety of students, self-confidence
enhancement, and writing performance. The results
showed that the UCG and DCG students
outperformed the NCG in significantly improving
their Chinese Composition Writing (CCW) skills. In
addition, cognitive anxiety significantly decreased
among DCG students. Furthermore, the self-
confidence enhancement in terms of writing tasks was
significantly higher among the UCG and DCG
students than among the NCG students. This study
proves a positive effect of social comparison on
school achievements and offers valid suggestions for
educational practice. Apart from examining the
relationship of variables across different scales, this
experiment attempted to validate how social
comparison affects academic anxiety by employing
an experimental approach. Its relatively
comprehensive contextual design also provides a
certain degree of ecological validity, making the
conclusion highly convincing.
Beyond these studies, the systematic review and
meta-analysis by McCarthy and Morina investigated
the association between social comparison,
depression, and anxiety with comprehensive analysis
and found that social comparison was significantly
associated with both issues of mental health
(McCarthy & Morina, 2020). Though having a wider
scope, the results again confirmed the role of social
comparison in academic anxiety; social comparison
processes were suggested for a consideration in future
studies in clinical samples.
In the study by Xu and Li, the total sample
consisted of 463 Chinese college students, from
freshmen to seniors, who took part in the survey (Xu
& Li, 2024). Using questionnaires, participants
completed the scales in the following order: the
Upward Social Comparison Scale, Relative
Deprivation Scale, Ruminative Thinking Scale, and
Social Anxiety Scale. The study found a significant
positive association between upward social
comparison and social anxiety among Chinese
college students, mediated by relative deprivation and
ruminative thinking. This result is also supported by
prior research that stated social comparison is related
to student's self-evaluation and mental health,
especially in college student groups. More
importantly, the study gave a more complex
explanation to the relationship between social
comparison and academic anxiety and emphasized
the psychological mechanism of social comparison.
In summary, in the research field that has explored
the influence of social comparison on academic
anxiety, the above six studies provide different
perspectives and findings. The research by Hong et
al. and Pigart et al. focused on special student groups
or special teaching objectives (
Hong et al, 2022,
Pigart et al, 2024), while the research of Xu and Li
and Pulford et al. focused on social comparison in
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189

relation to academic self-confidence and social
anxiety in general (Xu & Li, 202, Pulford et al, 2018).
While McCarthy and Morina took a broader approach
by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis
across various populations and contexts, looking at
the relationship between social comparison and
depression and anxiety (McCarthy & Morina, 2020),
Okano and Nomura narrowed down their
examination to the role of self-assessed social skills
in moderating social comparison and social anxiety
(Okano & Nomura, 2023). Thus, both studies indicate
the key role of individual differences during the
process of social comparison. These studies were
differently designed, some using cross-sectional
survey designs, and employed questionnaires and
scales to elicit responses on how social comparison
impacts the psychological states of individuals,
especially in regard to education and academic
achievement, in its relation to negative emotions such
as anxiety and depression.
Taken together, these studies indicate that social
comparison is a very universal psychological
phenomenon and hence may be an important variable
for the formation and development of academic
anxiety. In general, upward social comparison is
related to academic anxiety, while in some studies, it
has been documented that downward social
comparison reduces emotional distress. In addition,
feelings of relative deprivation and ruminative
thinking have been proved to be two mediators
between social comparison and academic anxiety,
which further reveals the psychological mechanisms
whereby social comparison affects academic anxiety.
Although the current literature on the relationship
between social comparison and academic anxiety has
provided valuable insights, there are still some
limitations and challenges. First, most studies have
adopted cross-sectional designs that do not allow for
the establishment of causality. Second, the diversity
of research samples is limited, with many studies
focusing on students in specific cultural or
educational contexts, thus limiting the
generalizability of the research findings.
Furthermore, while more sensitive measurement tools
are able to capture different directions, they
themselves are not sufficient for accounting for
different influences of social comparison on
academic anxiety. It would therefore be more
necessary to lay down new theory or models
regarding the influencing mechanism that can
comprehensively explain the contribution of social
comparison to academic anxiety.
5 DISCUSSION AND
SUGGESTIONS
5.1 Overall Conclusions of Current
Research
In summary, academic anxiety is a multidimensional
construct, which emanates from several influences
that interact complexly, such as teaching style and
social comparison.
As earlier presented, the autonomy-supportive or
controlling strategies of teachers could either reduce
or increase academic anxiety. More particularly,
supportive TSRs in the enhancement of curiosity,
self-efficacy, and engagement generally correspond
to low levels of academic anxiety. In contrast,
controlled or neglectful teaching styles are associated
with heightened test anxiety, decreased intrinsic
motivation, and higher stress.
Meanwhile, how students compare themselves
with their peers-most especially upward social
comparison-enhances feelings of inadequacy, thus
feeding into academic anxiety. In a number of studies,
downward comparison tends to offer some respite;
however, these effects are rather inconsistent across
different contexts or groups of students. It is in these
subjective meanings of such comparisons, such as
feelings of relative deprivation and ruminative
thinking, that the true determinants of the emergence
or intensification of academic anxiety really lie.
The findings of these studies altogether
demonstrate that academic anxiety emerges from the
complex interplay between TSRs, teaching practices,
and social comparison processes; no single factor
would have solely explained its development. Rather,
it is in how the teachers organize the learning
environment and how students place themselves
within the peer context that together shapes students'
experiences of anxiety in school.
5.2 Suggestions Based on Conclusions
Teaching style, social comparison, and TSRs are
some of the critical factors contributing to academic
anxiety. Interventions which depend on teaching
methods, awareness by teachers, self-regulated
learning and homes which are encouraging will go a
long way to help with academic anxiety. With these
interrelated influences in mind, the following
suggestions aim to reduce academic anxiety and
create a more positive learning experience:
Firstly, academic anxiety deals with the teaching
style being inclusive and supportive with the climate
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of respect and encouragement; in this environment
shaped by the inclusive and supportive teaching style,
the differences among the pupils are accepted. There
are also aspects where the elements of pupil
autonomy in learning, and the assessment along with
constructive feedback, is frequently provided.
Teachers can allow students to have a sense of
ownership and therefore increase their motivation
while decreasing the level of stress when planning
lessons or presenting different ways to approach
problems.
Besides, it is relevant that teachers be able to
identify symptoms of anxiety and practice classroom-
based interventions. Professional development on
how to identify symptoms of anxiety, as well as
specific strategies with anxious students, provides the
teacher with practical means of reducing learners'
stress. Short relaxation exercises, discussions in small
groups, or individualized conversations may thus help
learners develop coping mechanisms and gradually
build resilience.
In addition to academics, strengthening students'
self-regulated learning and emotional management
skills is one of the keys to reducing academic
burdens. That is, when learners set goals, plan study
schedules, monitor progress, and evaluate outcomes,
they are usually able to feel a heightened sense of
control over their academics. Mindfulness, reflective
journaling, and guided self-talk are other techniques
that enhance emotional regulation and may reduce the
effects of highly competitive or performance-oriented
environments.
Finally, a favorable home environment is
conducive to students' coping well with anxiety about
school. Parents can further encourage the sharing of
difficulties with schoolwork, setting realistic goals,
and limiting the emphasis on upward social
comparisons. This kind of atmosphere would give
their child the chance to feel safe: sharing his or her
difficulties and asking for advice if necessary. In case
there are signs of severe anxiety, further professional
psychological consultation is needed in order to
protect students emotionally and support overall
academic success.
5.3 Future Research Directions
Therefore, from a methodological perspective, more
longitudinal studies are needed on academic anxiety
in the future; this design has the potential of showing
how academic anxiety naturally evolves over the
years, of better specifying how teaching style, social
comparison, and academic anxiety interact or cause
each other problems, and detecting critical points
which can be timely intervened.
Additionally, further research on academic
anxiety is thus usefully embedded within an
exploration of its manifestation across diverse
cultural and educational contexts, since it would
appear that cultural norms and values do indeed make
a critical contribution to shaping students' perceptions
of and reactions to academic pressures. More
particularly, cross-cultural comparisons may yield
information on how the socialization of learning
behavior, teacher-student interaction, and parent-
child interaction serve to identify more precisely
which factors of academic anxiety are universal and
which are culture-specific.
Moreover, specific research into subgroups of
students, such as first-grade students, learners with
special needs, or those from economically
disadvantaged backgrounds, can give far more
detailed strategies for reducing anxiety. Because
these tailored interventions are matched to the
particular challenges of a given subgroup, researchers
and practitioners are able to develop targeted
approaches that help optimize learning outcomes and
mental well-being.
The other promising avenue may be research in
the field of technological solutions, including online
platforms and applications for learning, digital self-
regulation tools, and emotional support. The
continuation of this avenue may describe, for
instance, how new developments in these
technologies may explain how virtual classrooms,
adaptive learning, and mental health applications will
reduce academic stress through direct and
personalized feedback, as well as direct and
personalized emotional support. With the robust
measures of anxiety on board, such technology being
embedded within empirical studies allows the
delineation of new opportunities toward cultivating
supportive and student-centered learning
environments.
6 CONCLUSION
This article focused on how teaching style and social
comparison shape academic anxiety among students.
Evidence reviewed showed that an autonomy-
supportive teaching style may nurture curiosity,
engagement, and self-efficacy-all of which tend to
reduce anxiety-while controlling or neglecting
teaching styles consistently elevate anxiety because
they risk students' intrinsic motivation and sense of
security. Whereas social comparison processes, and
Examining the Roles of Teaching Style and Social Comparison in Academic Anxiety
191

upward comparisons in particular, often create
feelings of inadequacy and test-related stress,
downward comparisons can sometimes reduce
distress in some contexts. What all these studies share
is the finding that academic anxiety results when
students perceive a discrepancy between their
capabilities and the demands imposed on them, either
by teachers or peers. Teachers who foster respectful
classroom climates and constructive feedback reduce
students' academic concerns; inclusive pedagogical
approaches further support learners to develop
confidence and resilience. Overall, interplays
between teaching style and social comparison have
consequences on emotions within the classrooms and
also broaden the influence over learning outcomes
more generally.
By synthesizing the results of the studies, a
protective buffer in academic anxiety would be
provided through strategies that promote good TSRs,
emotional support, and constructive peer-based
evaluations. Highly competitive settings can heighten
negative self-assessments and perceived academic
pressures, again pointing to a need for balance in
supportive learning communities.
The insights gained here have implications for
educational practice and policy. Greater awareness of
how teaching approaches influence students'
emotional well-being may help guide teacher-training
programs, encouraging more supportive methods.
Recognizing the role of social comparison provides
school administrators and counselors with a
framework for interventions that foster healthy peer
interactions. Research findings could therefore be
used to inform strategies to improve academic
performance and mental health.
For the future, further research should be done
with longitudinal designs and culturally diverse
samples in order to better establish causal relations
and improve generalizability. Research into
subgroups with unique vulnerabilities, such as
students with special learning needs, might also
inform our understanding of targeted interventions.
Lastly, exploration into technology-based tools,
including adaptive learning platforms, could yield
novel avenues for reducing academic anxiety through
personalized support and real-time feedback.
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