Anxiety-linked task performance: Dissociating the influence of restricted working memory capacity and increased investment of effort

Abstract

The present set of studies evaluated two specific predictions generated by Eysenck et al.'s (2007) attentional control theory of anxiety-linked task performance. First, to the extent that a task increases the need for working memory capacity, an anxiety-linked performance decrement should become more evident. Second, to the extent that a task increases the likelihood of effort, this anxiety-linked performance decrement should attenuate. Experiments 1 and 2 examined the learning performance of low and high trait anxious participants in capacity-dependent and capacity-independent tasks, under incidental and intentional learning conditions. Experiments 3 and 4 then examined the learning preference of such participants under incidental and intentional learning conditions. The pattern of findings provides direct support for the model's predictions.