A complex verbal learning task was administered under stress or nonstress conditions to Ss shown by pre-tests to have either high or low scores on anxiety and need for achievement. Subsidiary findings from the pre-tests were that debilitating anxiety scores had a significant negative correlation with facilitating anxiety scores, and also with achievement scores. The verbal learning showed a significant interaction with “drive” variables: Ss high in need for achievement performed better if anxiety and stress were high but Ss low in need for achievement performed better if anxiety and stress were low. Ss high on only one or two drive variables showed significantly poorer learning than the pool of Ss high on all three or low on all three drive variables.
