EFFECTS OF STATE ANXIETY AND TASK DIFFICULTY ON COMPUTER-ASSISTED LEARNING

29 undergraduates served as Ss. An IBM 1440 system presented the learning materials and recorded responses. The measures of anxiety (A) were scores on the A-state scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and changes in systolic blood pressure. STAI A-state scores and blood pressure both increased while Ss worked on difficult learning materials and decreased when Ss responded to easy materials. Ss with high A-state scores made more errors on difficult materials and fewer errors on easy materials than low A-state Ss. Results were discussed in terms of K. W. Spence and J. A. Taylor's drive theory and C. D. Spielberger's trait-state anxiety theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.