The effects of active worrying on working memory capacity
Sari, B.A. and Koster, E.H.W. and Derakhshan, Nazanin (2017) The effects of active worrying on working memory capacity. Cognition and Emotion 31 (5), pp. 995-1003. ISSN 0269-9931.
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Abstract
According to the attentional control theory, worry, a crucial component of anxiety, impairs task performance through its direct effect on working memory capacity (WMC) by using up the limited resources available for performance thus reducing attentional control. We tested this hypothesis in the current study by examining the causal influence of active worrying on WMC in a sample of undergraduate university students (n = 64) assigned either to a worry condition or to a non-worry control condition. Participants performed a change detection task before and after the worry/control manipulation. Mediation analyses showed that the level of self-reported worry mediated the effects of condition on change in WMC as demonstrated by the significant indirect effect of worry and the resulting non-significant direct effect of condition on change in WMC. Similar results were obtained when using state anxiety measures as mediating factors. Results of the current study are amongst the first to demonstrate that worry impairs WMC and as such have important implications for understanding the impact of worry.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis, available online at the link above. |
| Keyword(s) / Subject(s): | Anxiety, worry, working memory capacity, change detection, attentional control |
| School: | Birkbeck Schools and Departments > School of Science > Psychological Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Administrator |
| Date Deposited: | 16 May 2016 15:20 |
| Last Modified: | 25 Jun 2020 18:18 |
| URI: | http://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/15184 |
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