The effect of cognitive style and manifest anxiety on intellectual and vocational interest in adolescents

The relationship of cognitive and emotional factors to concurrent fields of interest and future vocational preferences were examined in a sample of Israeli high school children. Divergent thinking, anxiety, occupational preference, and fields of intellectual interests were measured. High divergent thinkers were found to have a wider range of interest, i.e., tend to choose occupation and free time intellectual interests in different fields. High anxious subjects, were found to have a narrow range of interest, choosing occupation and free time interest in the same field. They also seem to be more affected by the social prestige value of the occupations in their choice than are low anxious subjects. A strong and significant negative correlation was found between manifest anxiety and divergent thinking. The results suggest that scores on tests of divergent thinking and manifest anxiety may provide useful information for the school or vocational counselor.     

General self-efficacy and control in relation to anxiety and cognitive performance

The present investigation employed a general measure of self-efficacy, a measure of perceived control, and items relating to expectation and evaluation (pre and post). The purpose was to determine whether general self-efficacy or perceived control best predicted the criterion variables of state anxiety and performance on a stressful cognitive task (solving anagrams) under conditions of high versus low control. These relationships were tested under the experimental conditions of high and low objective control (i.e., the actual control afforded by the situation). Results showed that general self-efficacy, relative to perceived control was a better predictor of state anxiety in the high and low control conditions but neither predicted actual performance. Participants’ expectations of task difficulty, their own performance, and their performance relative to the performance of others taken before the task were compared with their evaluations of difficulty and performance after completing the task. Participants indicated that the task was easier than anticipated, but rated their own performance more poorly after completion of the task. The study reported in this article was supported, in part, by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Grant No. 410-94-1473 to Norman S. Endler.     

General self-efficacy and control in relation to anxiety and cognitive performance

The present investigation employed a general measure of self-efficacy, a measure of perceived control, and items relating to expectation and evaluation (pre and post). The purpose was to determine whether general self-efficacy or perceived control best predicted the criterion variables of state anxiety and performance on a stressful cognitive task (solving anagrams) under conditions of high versus low control. These relationships were tested under the experimental conditions of high and low objective control (i.e., the actual control afforded by the situation). Results showed that general self-efficacy, relative to perceived control was a better predictor of state anxiety in the high and low control conditions but neither predicted actual performance. Participants’ expectations of task difficulty, their own performance, and their performance relative to the performance of others taken before the task were compared with their evaluations of difficulty and performance after completing the task. Participants indicated that the task was easier than anticipated, but rated their own performance more poorly after completion of the task. The study reported in this article was supported, in part, by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Grant No. 410-94-1473 to Norman S. Endler.     

Sleep problems,anxiety and cognitive style in school‐aged children

The associations between sleep problems, anxiety, anxiety sensitivity and attributional style were examined in self‐report data from 79 children aged 8–11 years. Total anxiety score was associated with different types of sleep problems (bedtime resistance, sleep anxiety and nightmares). Conversely, total sleep problem score was associated with different sub‐scales of anxiety (from r(78) = 0.15, p = NS to r(79) = 0.47, p < 0.01). Symptoms of anxiety correlated significantly with anxiety sensitivity, but not with attributional style. After controlling for other symptoms of anxiety, school phobias (Beta = 0.26, p < 0.05), the mental incapacitation concerns scale of anxiety sensitivity (Beta = 0.26, p < 0.05), and attributional style (Beta = −0.31, p < 0.01, R² = 0.45) predicted sleep problems. These results suggest that anxiety is associated with a range of sleep problems, and that sleep problems are associated with different types of anxiety. Furthermore, certain cognitive styles are associated with both anxiety and sleep problems and may be good candidates for further research into the association between sleep problems and anxiety in children. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Defensive externality and its relation to academic performance.

This study examined the relationship between locus of control and academic performance by evaluating the academic achievement of defensive externals, which has been considered a confounding factor in previous research. A further objective was an examination of the effect of two mediating variables in their relation to locus of control and academic performance. One hundred sixty college students were administered the Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance scales, the Fear of Negative Evaluation scale, and the Achievement via Independence/via Conformance scales. Obtained results demonstrated that internals were academically superior to both defensive and congruent externals. Defensive externals were shown to have higher grade point averages than congruent externals, and female defensive externals achieved greater academic success than their male counterparts. Further results suggested that the relationship between locus of control and academic performance may not be a direct one but may be modified by specific mediating variables.     

The relation between task-relatedness of anxiety and metacognitive performance

It is well established that anxiety influences a range of cognitive processes such as cognitive control or decision-making. What is less known is how anxiety influences the metacognitive evaluations individuals make about their own performance. The present study explored the importance of task-relatedness in the relation between anxiety and metacognitive awareness. More specifically, we hypothesized that induced anxiety would affect metacognitive performance in opposite directions depending solely on whether the threat is perceived as related or unrelated to the performance. We conducted two experiments to test this hypothesis.In both studies, electric shocks were administered randomly, regardless of participant’s performance. In experiment 1, participants were informed that the shocks would be administered randomly, unrelated to performance. In experiment 2, participants were told that their metacognitive performance would influence the administration of the electric shocks (i.e. fewer electric shocks with better metacognitive performance). Our predictions were confirmed. Threat perceived as unrelated to metacognitive performance (Experiment 1) decreased metacognitive performance. Threat believed to be related to metacognitive performance resulted in improved performance (Experiment 2).These findings confirm that induced anxiety exerts a strong influence on metacognitive awareness while sparing first-order task performance. We furthermore demonstrate that the perceived relatedness of the anxiety determines whether metacognitive performance decreases or improves performance under threat.