کد مقاله | کد نشریه | سال انتشار | مقاله انگلیسی | نسخه تمام متن |
---|---|---|---|---|
921011 | 920746 | 2013 | 7 صفحه PDF | دانلود رایگان |

Attentional Control Theory (ACT; Eysenck et al., 2007 and Derakshan and Eysenck, 2009) posits that trait anxiety interferes with the inhibition, shifting and updating processes of working memory. Consequently, high anxious individuals are predicted to perform worse on cognitively demanding tasks requiring efficient cognitive processing. Whilst a growing number of studies have provided support for this view, the possible underlying mechanisms of this deficiency are far less understood. In particular, there is conflicting neuroscientific evidence with some work showing associations between anxiety and increased neural activity over frontal areas, while others report reduced activity. We review recent evidence that has helped elucidate the cognitive hallmarks of trait anxiety, and suggest how previous discrepancies can be accommodated within ACT's prediction that reduced cognitive efficiency may be ameliorated by strategies such as compensatory effort. Finally, we discuss if ACT's distinction on efficiency and effectiveness can be applied to threat-related processing, often shown to additively override attentional control in anxiety.
► Anxiety is associated with processing inefficiency.
► Reduced cognitive efficiency in anxiety can be ameliorated by strategies such as compensatory cognitive effort.
► Attentional Control Theory's stand on efficiency and effectiveness can be applied to threat processing in anxiety.
Journal: Biological Psychology - Volume 92, Issue 3, March 2013, Pages 440–446