title: The effect of motivation on shoulder-muscle tension in attention-demanding tasks.
abstract: This paper evaluates motivation as a task-related factor causing the development of psychologically mediated ('psychogenic') shoulder-muscle tension. In four separate experiments using a visual display unit (VDU) based complex reaction-time task, motivation was established by means of continuous feedback on the level of performance (relative to a preset target performance level) or by means of a money reward for good performance. In all experiments motivation improved the performance, but an increase in the psychogenic shoulder-muscle tension was only observed in the money-reward condition. It is discussed whether this difference in the muscle-tension response is due to changes in the subjects' attitude unrelated to performance or due to a superior performance in the money-reward condition.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Occupational Health, Department of Physiology, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Waersted
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Bjørklund
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Westgaard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D016288:Computer Terminals; D004576:Electromyography; D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology; D009132:Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012782:Shoulder / Q000502:physiology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis