Interaction of Arousal and Task Difficulty upon Perceptual Restriction
Ss were required to perform both central and peripheral perceptual tasks presented simultaneously by means of 200-msec. tachistoscopic flashes. The central task, requiring the discrimination between 2 lines on the basis of length, was progressively increased in difficulty from Test I to Test III. Peripheral task performance required the estimation of the number of black dots surrounding the central task. This number varied randomly between 1 and 8. Half the Ss in each test performed these tasks under stress (hand in ice-water), the other Ss under no stress. A significant interaction ( p < .01) was found; the stress group was inferior to the no-stress group on the peripheral task when the central task was relatively easy (Test I) but was superior to the no-stress group when the central task was extremely difficult (Test III). The results were interpreted in terms of the dependence of the “range of cue utilization” upon the degree of difficulty of the perceptual material as well as arousal level.