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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 24, 2025

Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance

Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance

Published on: July 19, 2017

Testing theoretical assumptions underlying the relation between anxiety, mind wandering, and task-switching: A

Andree Hartanto¹, Hwajin Yang¹

¹School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University.

Emotion (Washington, D.C.)

|December 28, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Anxiety impairs task-switching by affecting task-set reconfiguration, not proactive interference. Mind wandering did not mediate this effect, clarifying anxiety's impact on cognitive control.

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Published on: July 19, 2017

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Psychopathology

Background:

Anxiety is known to negatively impact cognitive functions, particularly task-switching.
Key theoretical assumptions regarding anxiety's effects on task-switching remain underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the specific processing components of task-switching affected by anxiety.
To examine the strategies employed by anxious individuals during task-switching.
To assess the mediating role of mind wandering and moderating role of working memory.

Main Methods:

Employed a task-switching paradigm with stochastic diffusion model analysis.
Utilized a novel thought-probe technique to assess cognitive strategies.
Measured state anxiety levels and working memory capacity.

Main Results:

State anxiety impaired task-set reconfiguration efficiency, a key component of switch costs.
Anxiety was linked to deficits in mixing costs, another critical task-switching metric.
Partial evidence supported compensatory strategies in anxious individuals, but mind wandering and working memory did not play mediating or moderating roles.

Conclusions:

Anxiety's detrimental effects on task-switching are primarily due to inefficient task-set reconfiguration.
The findings refine theoretical models of anxiety and cognitive control.
Mind wandering and working memory do not appear to be primary mechanisms linking anxiety to task-switching deficits.