Lab study, 1976
Does understanding where your arousal comes from help you perform better on difficult tasks?
Yes, according to this study. When people could clearly attribute their feelings to an external source rather than worrying about the task itself, they performed significantly better.
What they did
Two experiments. In the first, people did difficult tasks while experiencing stress from expected shocks or test anxiety. Some received a pill explanation, warning, or no explanation for their feelings. In the second, menstruating women with moderate or severe symptoms performed tasks compared to those not menstruating.
What they found
In the first experiment, people given an explanation for their arousal performed significantly better than those given no explanation. In the second, menstruating women with strong symptoms performed significantly better on the stressful tasks than women not menstruating or with mild symptoms.
What it means for you
Having a clear reason for your arousal may help you focus and perform better. For menstruating women, their cycle provides a natural explanation for these feelings. This was tested with laboratory tasks, so applicability to real life is unclear. Sample sizes were not described.
About the study
- Original title
- Menstruation, reattribution, and competence
- Authors
- Rodin J
- Journal
- Journal of personality and social psychology
- Year
- 1976
- Study design
- Lab study
- Participants
- 2
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.33.3.345
Topics
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