It is commonly believed that perceptual-motor skills are well retained over no-practice intervals and are quickly relearned. Detailed information about the retention of such skills may be found in McGeoch and Irion (5). Of particular interest are studies reported by Tsai (9), Van Dusen and Schlosberg (10), and Jones and Bilodeau (3).Several preliminary studies were carried out preparatory to the two major ones reported in the present paper. 3 There was no detectable loss
Anagrams constructed from words in 1,2,3, or 4 conceptual categories were administered in random sequences to subjects scoring at the extremes of the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale. Scince explicit instructions were given to the subjects concerning the nature of the categories involved, it is assumed that sets for responding with words from these categories were present from the start. The results demonstrate a negative relation of solution rate to number of category sets and an interaction of this variable with manifest anxiety. Anxiety facilitates performance in the presence of a single category set but inhibits performance when multiple sets are concurrently operative. The latter finding is consistent with the drive interpretation of manifest anxiety by Taylor and Spence.
In an experiment designed for further exploration of the effects of manifest anxiety upon anagram problem solving, two levels each of manifest anxiety score, letter transition probability of anagram, and Thorndike-Lorge frequency of solution word were factorially combined (N = 40 male and 40 female freshmen and sophomores). While corroborating the previous findings that anagram solving rate is positively related to solution word frequency and negatively related to anagram letter transition probability, the results have demonstrated a significant interaction of solution word frequency, though not of anagram letter transition probability, with manifest anxiety score. This interaction, as shown in the facilitative effect of manifest anxiety with anagrams derived from high-frequency words and the inhibitory effect with anagrams derived from low-frequency words, is consistent with Taylor's interpretation that manifest anxiety, as an emotionally based drive, multiplicatively interacts with habit strength.
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