ENERGY AND TENSION AS PREDICTORS OF CONTROLLED VISUAL AND MEMORY-SEARCH

Fifty subjects performed controlled visual and memory search tasks. Task demands (single vs dual) and priority of dual-task components were manipulated. Individual differences in two dimensions of self-report arousal, energy and tension, were assessed prior to performance. Two principal results were obtained. First, high energy facilitated dual- but not single-task memory search efficiency. Second, energy and tension interactively affected both types of search: subjects high in energy and low in tension performed particularly well. High energy and lower tension tended to be associated with lower ratings of workload on the tasks. Results suggest modifications to existing theories of individual differences in attentional resource availability. Energy may be potentially facilitative to both attentional and short-term memory tasks, but high tension appears to block the beneficial effect of energy.