Abstract
This study compared 56 undergraduates exhibiting high or low anxiety on their ability to solve a concept identification problem following success or failure on a prior problem. Those low in anxiety showed better performance on the problem following failure; those high in anxiety showed better performance following success. This outcome is consistent with previously reported studies using patients hospitalized for anxiety reactions, but it differs from those comparing Type A and Type B coronary-prone personalities.
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The analysis of variance was conducted using BMDPV2, 1977 series, developed at the Health Sciences Computing Facility, University of California, Los Angeles, under NIH Special Resources Grant RB-3. The authors wish to express their appreciation to W. R. Lovallo and R. A. Yaroush for their valuable assistance and advice in this study. This study was conducted while Lyle E. Bourne, Jr., was on sabbatical semester at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Oklahoma City. Send reprint requests to Vladimir Pishkin (151 A), Behavioral Sciences Laboratories, Veterans Administration Medical Center, 921 N.E. 13th Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104.
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Meites, K., Pishkin, V. & Bourne, L.E. Anxiety and failure in concept identification. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 18, 293–295 (1981). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03333631
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03333631