Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Cognitive Trait Anxiety, Situational Stress, And Mental Effort Predict Shifting Efficiency: Implications For Attentional Control Theory, Elizabeth Edwards, Mark Edwards, Michael Lyvers
Cognitive Trait Anxiety, Situational Stress, And Mental Effort Predict Shifting Efficiency: Implications For Attentional Control Theory, Elizabeth Edwards, Mark Edwards, Michael Lyvers
Mark Edwards
Attentional control theory (ACT) predicts that trait anxiety and situational stress interact to impair performance on tasks that involve attentional shifting. The theory suggests that anxious individuals recruit additional effort to prevent shortfalls in performance effectiveness (accuracy), with deficits becoming evident in processing efficiency (the relationship between accuracy and time taken to perform the task). These assumptions, however, have not been systematically tested. The relationship between cognitive trait anxiety, situational stress, and mental effort in a shifting task (Wisconsin Card Sorting Task) was investigated in 90 participants. Cognitive trait anxiety was operationalized using questionnaire scores, situational stress was manipulated through …
Effects Of Trait Anxiety And Situational Stress On Attentional Shifting Are Buffered By Working Memory Capacity, Mark Edwards, Phillipa Moore, James Champion, Elizabeth Edwards
Effects Of Trait Anxiety And Situational Stress On Attentional Shifting Are Buffered By Working Memory Capacity, Mark Edwards, Phillipa Moore, James Champion, Elizabeth Edwards
Mark Edwards
Background and Objectives: Attentional Control Theory (ACT) predicts that trait anxiety and situation stress combine to reduce performance efficiency on tasks requiring rapid shifts in attention. Recent evidence has also suggested that working memory capacity (WMC) might moderate this relationship. We controlled for methodological difficulties in the existing literature to investigate the relationships between trait anxiety, situational stress, and WMC on attentional shifting. Design and Method: Seventy undergraduate students participated in the study. Trait anxiety was operationalized using questionnaire scores, situational stress was manipulated through a pressured counting task, and WMC was based on performance on the Automated Operation Span …