Manifest anxiety and two-point threshold sensitivity.

The present study utilized 27 college students (14 females, 13 males) to investigate the effects of anxiety upon the ability to attend to detail (two-point threshold sensitivity). It was hypothesized that subjects both low and high in anxiety would have a smaller threshold than mild or moderately anxious subjects. A curvilinear correlation of .83 (p less .01) was obtained between anxiety scores and two-point threshold sensitivity. There was no significant difference between mean thresholds for those scoring above or below the median on the anxiety scale. Suggestions for further research are discussed.