Processing-efficiency theory and the working-memory system: Impairments associated with sub-clinical anxiety

The articulatory loop within the working-memory system has been implicated in mediating the effects of anxiety on task performance. The study aimed to examine the effect of anxiety on both the articulatory loop and the central executive. Low (N = 21), medium (N = 26) and high (N = 25) anxious individuals performed a high-processing load measure of sustained attention. Measurements of task accuracy and response time were recorded. In addition, basic measures of psychomotor performance were completed. Whilst high levels of anxiety were associated with increased response times over the course of the task, there was a decline in performance accuracy over the course of the task that did not vary as a function of anxiety. This increase in response times was not due to differences in motor speed as psychomotor performance was uniform across groups. These results support the predictions of the Processing-Efficiency Theory. They also indicate possible roles for both the articulatory loop and the central executive in the performance deficits associated with anxiety.