Viewing oneself during synchronous online learning increases appearance anxiety and decreases memory for lecture content

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, instructors began using online learning platforms to offer live remote instruction (e.g., Zoom), which allow students to view themselves in real-time (i.e., self-view). The present research examined whether having students keep their cameras on, relative to cameras off, during a live online lecture would increase anxiety and reduce learning. In both Experiment 1a (small group setting) and Experiment 1b (large group setting), students in the camera-on condition did not report greater state anxiety, nor was anxiety associated with lower performance on an immediate multiple-choice exam. Experiment 2 specifically examined the effect of self-view and if appearance anxiety (rather than state anxiety) might mediate the relationship between camera use and test performance. Results indicate that participants viewing themselves reported significantly higher appearance anxiety, and that higher appearance anxiety was related to decreased learning. These findings suggest that viewing oneself may uniquely contribute to heightened appearance anxiety and may reduce memory for content when learning synchronously online.