Sarason's research interests in children's test anxiety developed from his observations that the performance of people with and without intellectual disabilities on intelligence tests could be impacted by anxiety related to the testing environment. For approximately 15 years, Sarason examined how test-taking attitudes and anxiety affect test performance. Summarizing some of his research, Sarason wrote The Clinical Interaction to describe situational factors in testing environments that can lead to inaccurate and confusing test results. Although Sarason's research was considered successful, he described his work as a “research factory” and he was frustrated by the lack of socially-relevant action based on his research (e.g., he was frustrated that his research did not lead to programs to help children who experienced high test anxiety).