Levels of energizing drive and learning of tasks of different difficulty levels

Abstract

Twenty Ss were divided into hi-SRT and lo-SRT groups on basis of their scores on the Serial Reaction-time Test (SRT). The hi-SRT group performed significantly better than the lo-SRT group in all the items of a nonsense syllable learning task irrespective of the difficulty values of the items, except in the case of extremely easy items. Implica­ tions of this finding on the relationship between energizing drive and learning of difficult tasks have been discussed. Spence and the followers of his theory believe that high drive leads to better performance in easy but worse performance in difficult tasks (Spence, 1956). This prediction has been amply verified in verbal learning experiments (e.g., Standish & Champion,1960; Spence, Farber, & McFann, 1956, etc.). Most of these experiments use Manifest Anxiety Scale (MAS) (Taylor, 1953) to discriminate drive levels since, in terms of Spence's theory, anxiety can be regarded as an index of Hullian general drive. However, recently Eysenck and his associates have reported that persons under induced drive did in fact perform better than persons without induced drive in both easy and difficult verbal learning tasks (Willet & Eysenck, 1962; Willet, 1964). One possible explanation of such contradiction of findings on the relationship between drive and perfor­ mance on difficult tasks lies in the dual nature of drive. It has often been indicated that drive is energizing as well as disrupting in nature (e.g., Jones, 1960). How­ ever, it is also possible, as indicated by some, that there are two different kinds of drive-energizing and dis­ rupting-and that disrupting drive is quite close to anxiety (Sarason, 1957). When Hull formulated his theory on the facilitating effect of drive, most probably he had energizing drive, and certainly not disrupting drive, in mind. The results of anxiety studies, therefore, have no serious bearing on this aspect of Hull's theory. This exploratory experiment is designed to study the rela­ tionship between individual differences in energizing drive and learning of verbal materials of different difficulty levels. Serial Reaction-time Test (SRT) has been used in this study as measure of individual difference in energizing