| Dissertation Abstract – Idaho State University (2016)
Decades of research have revealed moderate albeit robust relationships between
anxiety and impaired working memory. Evidence and theory suggest that worry
competes for and occupies limited attentional resources, leaving fewer available to
perform other cognitive tasks. Unfortunately, few measures are available to directly
study the degree to which worry interferes with working memory. The purpose of this
investigation was to develop a novel computerized dual span task (i.e., “worry span”) that
utilizes worry-like sentences interleaved with neutral words to be remembered. This
worry span task was designed to emulate the theorized interference of worry on working
memory processes.
131 non-anxious participants completed the reading span task, the worry span
task, a criterion task of higher cognitive functioning (i.e., Nelson Denny Reading Test),
and a worry induction task during which they monitored and tallied intrusive negative
thoughts after a five-minute period of intentional worry. Participants also completed self
report measures of trait worry and state anxiety. State anxiety was measured several times
throughout the procedure.
State anxiety prior to working memory tasks did not appear related to poorer
working memory task performance. However, anxiety generally increased during
working memory tasks, and increases in state anxiety during these tasks correlated with
reduced task performance. Additionally, the number of tallied intrusions observed by
participants after the worry induction was associated with higher (not lower) working
xii
memory scores. The worry induction and monitoring task may have served as an index
of the ability to monitor and gate emotional information in the context of performing two
competing cognitive operations (i.e., tally worries and return focus to one’s breath).
Our results support the worry span task as a measure of working memory based
upon correlations with the reading span task, as well as correlations with the criterion
task assessing higher cognitive functioning. In addition, the worry span task remained a
significant predictor of both reading comprehension and the number of tallied intrusions,
after controlling for both state anxiety and reading span performance. Additionally, the
worry span demonstrated differential sensitivity to participant increases in state anxiety
post worry compared to the industry standard dual span task. This pattern of findings
suggests that the worry span may be a superior measurement of the impact of worry and
anxiety on working memory compared to other standard measures of working memory. |