Abstract
78 volunteer Ss designated high or low test-anxious were administered a standard reading test under non-stressful conditions. Group I (Irrelevant interruption) was interrupted by trivial, irritating occurrences; Group II (Relevant interruption) was interrupted by occurrences which appeared to be part of the planned sequence of the experiment; Group III (control) was uninterrupted. Of the 4 situational measures of affect utilized (hostility, anxiety, worry, emotionality), only hostility was significantly aroused by the experimental manipulations and, as expected, this elevation occurred only for the Irrelevant interruption group. All indices of emotional arousal tended to be higher for high than for low test-anxious Ss, but there were no significant interaction effects between anxiety levels and treatment groups. Performance was negatively related to worry and anxiety but was not affected by experimental treatments. Results are discussed within the framework of Mandler's (1964) interruption theory.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.