Abstract
Concepts of anxiety derived from drive theory suggest that Ss who are high in A-Trait respond with high levels of A-State to difficult tasks and have a higher probability of error. Thirty-six undergraduate Ss were divided into high and low A-Trait groups based on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scores and were randomly assigned a difficult or easy prose passage. Difficulty was manipulated through cloze procedures. Ss were given a 36-item retention test immediately after learning and 2 weeks later. Difficulty level was found to affect recall on immediate retention, but not on long-term recall. High A-Trait Ss did not demonstrate higher levels of A-State than low A-Trait Ss on immediate recall, but did so on long-term retention. Results were discussed in terms of Ss’ habituating to threatening stimuli associated with the task and methodological differences in determining difficulty between the present study and previous research.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Leherissey, B. L., O’Neil, H. F., & Hansen, D. N. Effects of memory support on state anxiety and performance in computer-assisted learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1971, 62, 413–420.
O’Neil, H. F., Spielberger, C. D., & Hansen, D. N. Effects of state-anxiety and task difficulty on computer-assisted learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1969, 60, 343–350.
Spence, J. T., & Spence, K. W. The motivational components of manifest anxiety: Drive and drive stimuli. In C. D. Spielberger (Ed.), Anxiety and behavior. New York: Academic Press, 1966, Pp. 291–326.
Spielberger, C. D. Theory and research on anxiety. In C. D. Spielberger (Ed.), Anxiety and behavior. New York: Academic Press, 1966.
Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. L., & Lushene, R. E. Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Palo Alto, Calif: Consulting Psychologist Press, 1970.
Spielberger, C. D., O’Neil, H. F., & Hansen, D. N. Anxiety, drive theory and computer-assisted learning. In B. A. Maher (Ed.), Progress in experimental personality research. Vol. 6. New York: Academic Press, 1972.
Taylor, W.L. Cloze procedure: A new tool for measuring readability. Journalism Quarterly, 1963, Fall, 415–433.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This paper is sponsored by Charles D. Spielberger, who takes full editorial responsibility for its contents.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Johnsen, E.P., Hohn, R.L. & Dunbar, K.R. The relationship of state-trait anxiety and task difficulty to learning from written discourse. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 2, 89–90 (1973). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03327725
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03327725