Psychobiological Reactions to Unpredictable Performance Stress in a Monotonous Situation

Twenty-four participants taking part in a laboratory experiment were informed that at some time during a 2.5 hr supervisory monitoring task they might be required to perform a perceptual-conflict task. The participants were randomly assigned to 4 groups characterized by 2 independent variables: active or passive supervisory monitoring combined with availability or absence of social contact. Performance and subjective experience were recorded during both tasks. Blood pressure, heart rate, and urinary excretion of catecholamines, and self-ratings of mood and arousal were recorded throughout the experimental session as well as during a control session on a separate day. Analyses of variance of physiological measures did not yield signifi- cant between-group differences, but there was a tendency toward better and more stable performance after active than after passive monitoring. Furthermore, the unpredictable perceptual-conflict task was associated with stronger effort after pas- sive than after active monit...

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