Abstract
In the present article, we argue that it may be fruitful to incorporate the ideas of the strength model of self-control into the core assumptions of the well-established attentional control theory (ACT). In ACT, it is assumed that anxiety automatically leads to attention disruption and increased distractibility, which may impair subsequent cognitive or perceptual-motor performance, but only if individuals do not have the ability to counteract this attention disruption. However, ACT does not clarify which process determines whether one can volitionally regulate attention despite experiencing high levels of anxiety. In terms of the strength model of self-control, attention regulation can be viewed as a self-control act depending on the momentary availability of self-control strength. We review literature that has revealed that self-control strength moderates the anxiety–performance relationship, discuss how to integrate these two theoretical models, and offer practical recommendations of how to counteract negative anxiety effects.
Highlights
Science, University of Bern, Fabrikstrasse 8, 3012 Bern, Specialty section: This article was submitted to Personality and Social Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology
Concluding Remarks and Potential Implications In attentional control theory (ACT) it is assumed that anxiety leads to a dominance of the bottom-up stimulus-driven attentional system, which makes individuals more distractible, potentially impairing subsequent performance in tasks requiring selective attention (Eysenck et al, 2007)
By initiating self-regulatory processes, anxietybased effects on attention regulation can be compensated, but far, it had not been clear which self-regulatory processes are at work and why it is not always possible to compensate for the anxiety effects on attention regulation and performance
Summary
University of Bern, Fabrikstrasse 8, 3012 Bern, Specialty section: This article was submitted to Personality and Social Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology. Worries preoccupy working memory capacity, reducing the accessibility of attentional resources used for storing and processing relevant information in the central executive (i.e., cognitive interference; e.g., Eysenck et al, 2005; for an overview on Baddeley’s model of working memory, see Baddeley, 1986, 2001) This load on working memory capacity can potentially influence performance during concurrent tasks for which efficient attention regulation is required (e.g., Ashcraft and Krause, 2007). The dominance of the bottom-up attentional system hampers the ability to focus on relevant stimuli (e.g., Carver and Scheier, 1981) This assumption is supported by studies in which visual attention, which is viewed as a reliable indicator of attentional control (Henderson, 2003), was negatively affected by increased anxiety levels (e.g., Behan and Wilson, 2008). Anxiety makes it harder to regulate attention volitionally
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