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Abstract

Rigidity has been linked to reactive inhibition and manifest anxiety to drive. The possible influence of these personality factors and their interaction on pursuit-rotor performance was investigated. High-rigid Ss and low-rigid Ss were divided further into high-anxious Ss and low-anxious Ss (ns = 15). All Ss received 20 distributed (20 sec. work, 30 sec. rest) acquisition trials immediately followed by 30 relatively massed trials (20 sec. work, 5 sec. rest). The trend analyses showed (p = .01) that performance was a function of the difference between anxiety levels, with neither rigidity nor the interaction components approaching statistical significance. Low-anxious Ss were immediately superior in acquiring the skill and in maintaining it under massed conditions.

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Effects of Rigidity and Anxiety on Pursuit Rotor Performance

Abstract

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