No trait anxiety linked differences in affective and non-affective task-switching
- Author
- Bram Van Bockstaele (UGent) , James Tough, Frances Meeten, Colette R. Hirsch, Elaine Fox and Lies Notebaert
- Organization
- Abstract
- Elevated levels of trait anxiety are argued to interfere with the ability to shift attention between different task sets, yet empirical support for this hypothesis is scarce. Using a task-switching paradigm in two separate studies, we compared high and low trait anxious participants' ability to switch from non-affective, positive, and negative tasks to different non-affective tasks. In Study 1 (N = 59 high and low trait anxious undergraduate students), we found that non-affective-to-non-affective switch costs were smaller than both positive-to-non-affective and negative-to-non-affective switch costs, and positive-to-non-affective switch costs were smaller than negative-to non-affective switch costs. In Study 2 (N = 97 high and low trait anxious community members), we found that non-affective-to-non-affective switch costs and positive-to-non-affective switch costs were both smaller than negative-to-non-affective switch costs, but positive-to-non-affective and non-affective-to-non-affective switch costs did not differ. Crucially, none of the switch costs in either of the studies or in an analysis of the combined data differed between high and low trait anxious groups. While we cannot exclude the possibility that anxiety linked differences in task-switching do exist when switching from more demanding to less demanding tasks, our studies found no evidence for the general idea that elevated trait anxiety interferes with attentional shifting.
- Keywords
- INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES, ATTENTIONAL BIAS, PERFORMANCE, FLEXIBILITY, DEPRESSION, THREAT, SET, Task-switching, Attentional shifting, Attentional Control Theory, Trait anxiety
Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01J5NE4ZCHC7SZD4HARY8YVYDM
- MLA
- Van Bockstaele, Bram, et al. “No Trait Anxiety Linked Differences in Affective and Non-Affective Task-Switching.” PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES, vol. 217, 2024, doi:10.1016/j.paid.2023.112438.
- APA
- Van Bockstaele, B., Tough, J., Meeten, F., Hirsch, C. R., Fox, E., & Notebaert, L. (2024). No trait anxiety linked differences in affective and non-affective task-switching. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES, 217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2023.112438
- Chicago author-date
- Van Bockstaele, Bram, James Tough, Frances Meeten, Colette R. Hirsch, Elaine Fox, and Lies Notebaert. 2024. “No Trait Anxiety Linked Differences in Affective and Non-Affective Task-Switching.” PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2023.112438.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Van Bockstaele, Bram, James Tough, Frances Meeten, Colette R. Hirsch, Elaine Fox, and Lies Notebaert. 2024. “No Trait Anxiety Linked Differences in Affective and Non-Affective Task-Switching.” PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 217. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2023.112438.
- Vancouver
- 1.Van Bockstaele B, Tough J, Meeten F, Hirsch CR, Fox E, Notebaert L. No trait anxiety linked differences in affective and non-affective task-switching. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES. 2024;217.
- IEEE
- [1]B. Van Bockstaele, J. Tough, F. Meeten, C. R. Hirsch, E. Fox, and L. Notebaert, “No trait anxiety linked differences in affective and non-affective task-switching,” PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES, vol. 217, 2024.
@article{01J5NE4ZCHC7SZD4HARY8YVYDM,
abstract = {{Elevated levels of trait anxiety are argued to interfere with the ability to shift attention between different task sets, yet empirical support for this hypothesis is scarce. Using a task-switching paradigm in two separate studies, we compared high and low trait anxious participants' ability to switch from non-affective, positive, and negative tasks to different non-affective tasks. In Study 1 (N = 59 high and low trait anxious undergraduate students), we found that non-affective-to-non-affective switch costs were smaller than both positive-to-non-affective and negative-to-non-affective switch costs, and positive-to-non-affective switch costs were smaller than negative-to non-affective switch costs. In Study 2 (N = 97 high and low trait anxious community members), we found that non-affective-to-non-affective switch costs and positive-to-non-affective switch costs were both smaller than negative-to-non-affective switch costs, but positive-to-non-affective and non-affective-to-non-affective switch costs did not differ. Crucially, none of the switch costs in either of the studies or in an analysis of the combined data differed between high and low trait anxious groups. While we cannot exclude the possibility that anxiety linked differences in task-switching do exist when switching from more demanding to less demanding tasks, our studies found no evidence for the general idea that elevated trait anxiety interferes with attentional shifting.}},
articleno = {{112438}},
author = {{Van Bockstaele, Bram and Tough, James and Meeten, Frances and Hirsch, Colette R. and Fox, Elaine and Notebaert, Lies}},
issn = {{0191-8869}},
journal = {{PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES}},
keywords = {{INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES,ATTENTIONAL BIAS,PERFORMANCE,FLEXIBILITY,DEPRESSION,THREAT,SET,Task-switching,Attentional shifting,Attentional Control Theory,Trait anxiety}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{8}},
title = {{No trait anxiety linked differences in affective and non-affective task-switching}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2023.112438}},
volume = {{217}},
year = {{2024}},
}
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