Anxiety state-related task disengagement varies with trait anxiety

Abstract

Cognitively demanding tasks are often perceived as costly due to the cognitive control resources they require, leading to effort avoidance, particularly in psychiatric populations with motivational impairments. Research on anxiety and cognitive effort are mixed: some studies suggest anxiety increases the perceived effort cost and avoidance, while others indicate that cognitive effort engagement can serve as an adaptive coping strategy. To reconcile these perspectives, we examined the interaction between state and trait anxiety on cognitive effort evaluation and engagement in two experiments. We hypothesized that state anxiety enhances task engagement as difficulty increases, and that this effect is diminished in individuals with high trait anxiety. Experiment 1 assessed self-reported anxiety in an online sample, while Experiment 2 manipulated state anxiety through autobiographical recall. Both experiments employed flow induction and effort discounting paradigms. Across both studies, the effect of state anxiety on task engagement depended on trait anxiety, but the direction of the state anxiety effect was opposite to the effect we predicted. In Experiment 1, participants with low trait anxiety reported reduced task engagement, as indexed by lower flow scores, when state anxiety was higher, but only in easy tasks. This effect was attenuated in participants with higher trait anxiety. The same pattern was observed in Experiment 2, but this time the interaction between trait and state anxiety was present regardless of task difficulty. These findings suggest that trait anxiety may reflect reduced impact of state anxiety on task disengagement. Public significance statementThis study demonstrated that effects of state anxiety on task disengagement depend on individual differences in trait anxiety. People with higher trait anxiety reported reduced effects of state anxiety on task disengagement.