We are delighted to announce the publication of our latest scientific paper that delves into the connection between self-reported trait anxiety and various measures of cognitive control in young adults.
Our work aimed to establish the influence of self-reported trait anxiety on computerized and self-reported measures of executive control, and speed of processing in young adults using latent variable modeling. One hundred and six participants completed the State-trait anxiety questionnaire (STAI-t), the Attentional Control Scale (ACS), and a set of computerized tasks of executive control, tapping into the updating, inhibition, and shifting components. Higher scores in the latent variable of trait anxiety were negatively associated with the self-reported latent variable of attentional control. Notably, self-reported and performance-based indicators of executive control showed no associations at the latent level. Contrary to our hypotheses, higher trait anxiety did not affect any performance-based executive component but was associated with an increase in response times. We show that self-reported trait anxiety is related to a lower self-perceived sense of attentional control and does not affect executive functioning in non-clinical samples. In turn, trait anxiety is mainly associated with a slowed speed of processing. In conclusion, the tendency to experience a negative mood is related to cognitive processing by reducing its speed even in the absence of threatening stimuli.
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Reference
Adrover-Roig, D., Sanchez-Azanza, V., Buil-Legaz, L., López-Penadés, R., & Aguilar-Mediavilla, E. (2023). Trait anxiety slows speed of processing but does not affect specific components of executive control. Acta Psychologica, 238, 103973. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103973