The Effect of Distraction on Cognitive Performance as a Function of Anxiety

Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated the effect of distraction on cognitive performance as a function of trait anxiety. In the presence of pop-music, background office noise and silence, participants with varying levels of trait anxiety carried out an established cognitive performance (IQ) test. It was predicted that there would be a main effect of background sound: all participants would perform more poorly in the presence of music and noise than in silence. Results confirmed this prediction, with performance being highest in silence followed by music and noise respectively. It was also predicted that anxious individuals would do less well on the test in music and noise conditions than less anxious individuals, but performance would be similar in silence. Results partly supported this hypothesis. Performance of both groups was similar in silence, but the high-anxiety group performed better on the test than the low-anxiety group. Implications and limitations are discussed.