title: The effect of task-relevant and irrelevant anxiety-provoking stimuli on response inhibition.
abstract: The impact of anxiety-provoking stimuli on the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART; Robertson, Manly, Andrade, Baddeley, & Yiend, 1997), and response inhibition more generally, is currently unclear. Participants completed four SARTs embedded with picture stimuli of two levels of emotion (negative or neutral) and two levels of task-relevance (predictive or non-predictive of imminent No-Go stimuli). Negative pictures had a small but detectable adverse effect on performance regardless of their task-relevance. Overall, response times and rates of commission errors were more dependent upon the predictive value (relevance) of the pictures than their attention-capturing nature (i.e., negative valence). The findings raise doubt over whether anxiety improves response inhibition, and also lend support to a response strategy perspective of SART performance, as opposed to a mindlessness or mind-wandering explanation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand. Electronic address: k.wilson@hud.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Kyle M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Human Factors Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK. Electronic address: neil.dejoux@nottingham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Neil R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: de Joux
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand. Electronic address: kristin.finkbeiner@pg.canterbury.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Kristin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Finkbeiner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand. Electronic address: paul.russell@canterbury.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Paul N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand. Electronic address: deak.helton@canterbury.ac.nz.
authors.forename: William S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Helton
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Anxiety; Attention; Emotion; Inhibitory control; Picture processing; Response inhibition; SART; Speed-accuracy trade-off; Sustained attention; Vigilance