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Prediction of Task‐Related Arousal Under Conditions of Environmental Distraction 1
Author(s) -
Coren Stanley,
Aks Deborah J.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1991.tb02722.x
Subject(s) - distraction , arousal , psychology , task (project management) , cognitive psychology , low arousal theory , trait , audiology , social psychology , computer science , medicine , management , economics , programming language
The Arousability Predisposition Scale (APS) was used to assess individual differences in arousal that occur when a task is performed under conditions of environmental distraction. The APS is a brief (12‐item) scale, that purportedly measures arousability as a trait or predisposition. To manipulate arousal experimentally, subjects performed a speeded search task under conditions of visual and auditory distraction. Pre‐ and postdistraction task measures of arousal were taken using Thayer's Activation‐Deactivation Adjective Check List. The distraction task caused a general increase in arousal as compared to a control group who did not perform the task. Although there were no differences in pretest measures, subjects judged highly arousable on the APS showed a greater change in task‐related arousal than subjects judged low on arousability, validating the usefulness of the APS as a measure of arousability under conditions of environmental stress.