The effect of anxiety, stress and type of task on problem solving performance

Abstract

The present study examined the relationship between anxiety, stress, and the nature of the task. A total of 40 male and 60 female subjects were selected on the basis of their scores on two anxiety scales. Half of each group was considered to be "high anxious" (HA), while the other half was "low anxious" (LA). Both HA and LA groups were then subdivided randomly into either the "high stress" or "low stress" condition. All subjects completed each of four tasks. These were: Logical Reasoning; Letter Series; Ingenuity; and Word Production.