Biased processing of emotional information in sub-clinical anxiety: Evidence from Simon effects

We tested the idea that in high trait-anxiety, behavioural responses are influenced by spatial correspondence to emotional information. It is suggested that if an emotional stimulus is preferentially processed, it may act as if presented alone and yield a Simon effect: faster responses when stimulus and response spatially correspond than when not. High-trait-anxious undergraduates indeed showed a content-specific Simon effect for social-threat (not physical-threat) words that were presented together with a neutral word for 14 ms; they showed the reverse response pattern for positive words. Low-anxious undergraduates had no bias. When presentation time was lengthened to 500 ms, the response pattern for social-threat and positive words shown by high-anxious undergraduates reversed as compared to the pattern with 14 ms, but there were no significant group differences. These results can be taken to suggest that in high trait-anxiety, the processing of social-threat is specifically prioritized; social-threat and positive information may elicit an immediate response, counteracted by mood-regulation strategies. We argue that the present approach opens up interesting avenues for investigating biased information processing and response tendencies.     

大学生早期适应不良图式、焦虑与拖延的关系

为探讨大学生早期适应不良图式、焦虑与拖延的关系, 并考察焦虑在早期适应不良图式与拖延之间的中介效应, 采用一般拖延量表、Young图式问卷—简版、状态—特质焦虑问卷和自编一般人口学情况调查表, 对广东一高校559名大学生进行调查研究。研究结果发现:(1)"分离和拒绝"、"自主性和能力不足"、"缺乏自控/自律不足"图式均能显著正向预测焦虑和拖延;(2)特质焦虑能显著正向预测拖延, 而状态焦虑对拖延无显著预测作用;(3)特质焦虑在"分离和拒绝"、"自主性和能力不足"、"缺乏自控/自律不足"图式与拖延之间起部分中介作用。     

Trait anxiety,sense of coherence and medical school stressors: Observations at three stages

Abstract

Changes in personality characteristics during young adulthood were evaluated in a three-stage study of perceptions of stressors, trait anxiety and sense of coherence among students in a six-year medical school. Data were collected during the orientation program prior to the beginning of the first year of studies, and in the middle of the first and second years.

No differences on perceptions of stressors, anxiety and sense of coherence were found between different classes tested during the same stage in their medical school careers. Changes in these variables were found, however, over the stages. Overall stressor scores increased significantly in the second year (third stage), due primarily to students' assessments of two clusters of stressors as more threatening: academic demands and professional status. Only certain groups of stressors correlated with anxiety and sense of coherence. Anxiety scores increased and sense of coherence scores decreased over time. These results indicate that exposure to a stressful environment during young adulthood, such as the early years of medical school, is manifested in significant personality changes.