The role of effort in moderating the anxiety – performance relationship: Testing the prediction of processing efficiency theory in simulated rally driving

Abstract

We tested some of the key predictions of processing efficiency theory using a simulated rally driving task. Two groups of participants were classified as either dispositionally high or low anxious based on trait anxiety scores and trained on a simulated driving task. Participants then raced individually on two similar courses under counterbalanced experimental conditions designed to manipulate the level of anxiety experienced. The effort exerted on the driving tasks was assessed though self-report (RSME), psychophysiological measures (pupil dilation) and visual gaze data. Efficiency was measured in terms of efficiency of visual processing (search rate) and driving control (variability of wheel and accelerator pedal) indices. Driving performance was measured as the time taken to complete the course. As predicted, increased anxiety had a negative effect on processing efficiency as indexed by the self-report, pupillary response and variability of gaze data. Predicted differences due to dispositional levels of anxiety were also found in the driving control and effort data. Although both groups of drivers performed worse under the threatening condition, the performance of the high trait anxious individuals was affected to a greater extent by the anxiety manipulation than the performance of the low trait anxious drivers. The findings suggest that processing efficiency theory holds promise as a theoretical framework for examining the relationship between anxiety and performance in sport.

Effects of anxiety on anticipation and visual search in dynamic, time-constrained situations.

“…Findings for the effect of anxiety on mental effort support previous work (e.g., Causer et al, 2011;Wilson et al, 2009aWilson et al, , 2009b, and provide further evidence to highlight the moderating role of effort under HA conditions (Wilson, Smith, Chattington, Ford, & Marple-Horvat, 2006). The effort compensating process seems to be necessary to prevent performance dropping below a certain ‫ء‬ p Ͻ .05, ‫ءء‬ p Ͻ .01.…”

Are anxiety and fear separable emotions in driving? A laboratory study of behavioural and physiological responses to different driving environments

“…Simulator research should attempt to discover this in future research. Alternatively, it may be interesting to see if trait interacts with state anxiety in simulator research; the majority of research has found significant changes in driving behaviour as a function of state anxiety (Briggs, Hole & Land, 2011;Morton & White, 2013;Wilson et al, 2006), and it is possible that trait anxiety may have an effect on this.…”

Emotionally involving telephone conversations lead to driver error and visual tunnelling

“…The effects of increased anxiety on task goals and performance have been investigated, with findings suggesting that increased anxiety introduces task-irrelevant goals which compete with task-relevant goals, depleting CE resources (Lavric, Rippon, & Gray, 2003). This increase in overall workload, in turn, contributes to failures in spatial working memory (Shackman et al, 2006) and decreased visual awareness (Wilson, Smith, Chattington, Ford, & Marple-Horvat, 2006; See also Matthews, Bryant, Webb, & Harbluk, 2001;. Easterbrook (1959) was amongst the first to propose that emotional arousal reduces the range of visual cues that are used by an individual when scanning a visual scene.…”