Changes in Maze-Solving Errors Due to Stress

Abstract

Maze-solving was examined as a candidate performance measurement tool for assessing the effect of stress. Stress was induced by limiting the amount of time available for subject input. The usefulness of this task as a measurement tool was evaluated in a series of three experiments. The first experiment sought to isolate a particular maze configuration (size and difficulty level) which would show reliable and sensitive differences among a range of dot speeds. The second experiment assessed the effect of repeated presentation on performance. The final experiment in this series investigated the effect of dot speed on maze performance using a within-subject design and the maze configuration chosen in the first experiment. Results from these experiments were consistent: increases in dot speed produced reliable decrements in performance. The strategies used in solving these mazes were examined qualitatively as well as quantitatively. The number of incorrect paths chosen increased as the dot speed increased, and errors that did occur were not as readily corrected. Furthermore, the errors that occured with increased dot speed were typically errors of commission, rather than simple failures of motor coordination. These tendencies indicated that the decrement in performance scores with increased dot speed was due to shortened planning horizon.