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The Affect of Anxiety on Cognitive Function

Hannah Murray

Arizona State University

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The Affect of Anxiety On Cognitive Functions

Introduction

The main focus of this paper is to discuss the relationship with anxiety and

cognitive performance. There has been lots of disagreement over whether anxiety really

has an effect on an individual’s capability to do certain tasks. There has also been a

great deal of arguments on if there is a positive affect on cognitive performance, but

we hypothesis that there is a negative association with anxiety and cognitive

performance. However, this paper will determine the effects of anxiety on cognitive

functioning, whether it is positive, negative or even has no relationship at all.

First off, anxiety is a feeling characterized by “a state of apprehension and fear

resulting from the anticipation of a threatening event or situation.” Anxiety affects

numerous individuals, but some experience anxiety not as severely. “Anxiety is an

aversive emotional and motivational state occurring in threatening circumstances. State

anxiety (the currently experienced level of anxiety) is determined interactively by trait or

test anxiety and by situational stress (see Eysenck, 1992). It can be conceptualized as “a

state in which an individual is unable to instigate a clear pattern of behavior to remove or

alter the event/ object/interpretation that is threatening an existing goal” (Power &

Dalgleish, 1997, pp. 206–207). There has been a wide range of testing on anxiety to

determine the significance it has on a person’s experience. It is essential to recognize the

effects of anxiety on someone because it is said that it is associated with how individuals

learn and process information.

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Cognitive performance is a series of skills used in everyday life. Cognitive

includes attention control, flexible thinking, working memory, organization, inhibition

and shifting. Anxiety is an emotion that can deteriorate your thought process and cloud

your judgment. When it comes to your cognitive function, anxiety can affect a person’s

working memory, organization and inhibition. Having the ability to focus while having

severe anxiety can be extremely frustrating and difficult.

Attentional Control Theory

According to the article, Attentional Control Theory: Anxiety, Emotion, and

Motor Palling, Attention Control Theory is when anxiety manifests in impaired

attentional control, which leads to performance deficits in tasks involving the central

executive of the working memory system” (Eysenck et al., 2007). Anxiety impairs

processing efficiency because it reduces attentional control, according to attentional

control theory. “Attentional control theory main hypothesis focused on how anxiety has

an effect on an individual’s effectiveness and efficiency performance level” (Coombes, S.

A., Higgins, T., Gamble, K. M., Cauraugh, J. H., & Janelle, C. M. (2009). ACT explains

how the feeling of fear and worry can interfere with one’s performance level.

Anger and Anxiety

Other studies have researched and compared two negative conditions for

example anger and anxiety. According to the article, The Effect of Negative Affect on

Cognition: Anxiety, Not anger, Impairs Executive Function, there is many signs of

evidence that led us to hypothesize that anxiety, but not anger, should impair executive

function (Roskes, Elliot, Nijstad, & De Dreu, 2013). The affects of anxiety and anger can
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lead to poor decision-making, which can impair a person’s cognitive judgment. This

article concluded that anxiety has more of an effect on functions than anger.

Processing Efficiency Theory

Anxiety frequently impairs performance especially when a task can be

challenging. When a person is overwhelmed with anxiety it can cause them to worry,

which can lead to short-term memory. “According to the processing efficiency theory,

worry has two main effects: (1) a reduction in the storage and processing capacity of the

working memory system available for a concurrent task; and (2) an increment in on-task

effort and activities designed to improve performance” (Michael W. Eysenck & Manuel

G. Calvo (2008). The most important factor when it comes to the processing efficiency

theory is that anxiety typically impairs efficiency more than effectiveness. Effectiveness

means the quality of the task performance, where as efficiency refers to the correlation

between effectiveness of performance and the effort spent doing the task. When

experiencing anxiety a person can have worrisome thoughts that consume their attention

and it tends to affect their cognitive performance. Another effect of anxiety is loss of

motivation. The anxiety takes over their thoughts and a person can start to feel

discouraged leading them worrisome thought that interfere processing and storing

information.

Conclusion

In these articles there is numerous information provided that anxiety does in fact

affect a person cognitive performance negatively. Anxiety can overwhelm a person so

much that they can only focus on the anxiety itself and nothing else. It can impair a
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persons’ thought process and judgment. Therefore, meaning that anxiety does indeed

impair cognitive functions.

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References

Coombes, S. A., Higgins, T., Gamble, K. M., Cauraugh, J. H., & Janelle, C. M. (2009).

Attentional Control Theory: Anxiety, Emotion, and Motor Planning. Journal of Anxiety

Disorders, 23(8), 1072–1079. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2009.07.009

Eysenck MW, Derakshan N, Santos R, Calvo MG

Emotion. 2007 May; 7(2):336-53.

Michael W. Eysenck & Manuel G. Calvo (2008) Anxiety and Performance: The Processing

Efficiency Theory, Cognition and Emotion, 6:6, 409-434, DOI:

10.1080/02699939208409696

Olatunji, B. O., & Wolitzky-Taylor, K. B. (2009). Anxiety sensitivity and the anxiety disorders:

A meta-analytic review and synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 135(6), 974-999.

doi:10.1037/a0017428

Shields, G. S., Moons, W. G., Tewell, C. A., & Yonelinas, A. P. (2016). The effect of negative

affect on cognition: Anxiety, not anger, impairs executive function. Emotion, 16(6), 792-

797. doi:10.1037/emo0000151