Information Load Stress, Risk Taking and Physiological Responsivity in a Visual-Motor Task
Abstract
The effects of four levels of information load on physiological responsivity (blood pressure and heart rate) and on risk taking were analyzed and compared to previous results concerning the effects of load on performance. Twenty-five adults participated in a hand-eye coordination task of moderate complexity. The task was designed to permit strategic responding, risk taking and retaliatory behavior. Risk taking was measured as the degree to which subjects acted to increase the probability of a major loss in the face of potential minor gains. It is argued that an expected stress effect on risk taking and performance can be defended only if load would result in elevated arousal with risk taking and with decreasing levels of performance. It was found that participation in the present task was associated with some degree of arousal and that persons with greater (diastolic) arousal tended to take greater risks. Load affected risk taking but was not related to physiological responsivity. The potential that load as a stresssor functions as a cognitive modifier of performance, and does not represent a precursor of strain (and stress), is considered.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1982
- Accession Number
- ADA118079
Entities
People
- Ann L. Denson
- Siegfried Streufert
- Susan C. Streufert
Organizations
- Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center