What really bothers neurotics? In search for factors impairing attentional performance

The authors examine the relationship between neuroticism and the efficiency of visual attention. The predicted relations stem from the biological theory of personality and the Yerkes–Dodson law. According to M.W. Eysenck, neurotics would show worse performance in more demanding attentional tasks, whereas stable subjects would perform worse in less demanding task stimulation conditions. The main aim of the presented study was to determine specific stimulation conditions that impair attentional performance in neurotic subjects. In four experiments (N=64, N=100, N=91, N=102) a computerized test of visual selective attention was applied in order to assess selectivity, distraction susceptibility and dual task performance. The main manipulation between the experiments was the speed of stimuli presentation. The data suggest that it is the speed of stimuli presentation rather than the taskʹs complexity that impairs the efficiency of neuroticsʹ attentional mechanisms. Results are discussed in terms of possible implications for the biological theory of personality and the theory of the behavioral inhibition system.