MULTIDIMENSIONAL ANXIETY RESPONSES AND CUE-UTILIZATION PROCESSING IN A DUAL-MOTOR TASK SITUATION

The present study attempted to analyze the nature of multidimensional anxiety responses (cognitive, somatic, and physiological) and their di fferential effects upon cue-utilization processing in a dual-motor tas k situation. Under experimentally manipulated evaluative stress, 80 su bjects repeatedly performed a visual-tracking task which required them to focus on a continuously rotating target in the subject's central v isual field, while, at the same time, completing a reaction time task which required them to perceive and respond to intermittently stimulat ing visual signals in the subject's peripheral-visual field. The subje ct's cognitive, somatic, and physiological anxiety responses were asse ssed prior to dual-motor task performance. The results showed that the cognitive component of anxiety response represents the most influenti al variable relating to reduced peripheral cue-utilization or attentio nal processes. Somatic or physiological anxiety has little influence o n the attentional processes on a motor-task performance. Furthermore, this study tended to support the concept of multidimensional anxiety s tates with regard to their differential response patterns in a stressf ul dual-motor task situation.