The verbal reasoning performance of (high-anxious thigh trait anxiety,
low defensiveness), defensive high-anxious thigh trait anxiety, (high
defensiveness), repressor (low trait anxiety, high defensiveness), an
d low-anxious (low trait anxiety, low defensiveness) groups was examin
ed under high and low memory load conditions. As predicted by the proc
essing efficiency theory (Eysenck & Calvo, 1992), the slowing of reaso
ning speed with the high memory load was disproportionately great for
the high-anxious and defensive high-anxious groups. The effects of hig
h memory load on reasoning speed were the same for the low-anxious and
repressor groups, suggesting that both groups had equivalently low le
vels of worrying (and other anxiety-related) task-irrelevant thoughts.
Theoretical implications of these, and other findings, for the unders
tanding of repressors were discussed.