Effects of State Anxiety and Demand Conditions on Modeling Behavior

Abstract

80 female undergraduates underwent relaxation or anxiety-induction procedures and were then exposed to a fast or slow model negotiating a maze. One-half of these subjects were directly instructed to observe the model (demand condition), whereas the remainder were merely seated and told to wait their turn (no-demand condition). A visual-fixation measure was taken to determine the amount of time subjects actually spent observing the models. No significant correlation was found between the time spent observing the model and the time taken to complete the maze. State-anxious subjects tended to imitate the model more than relaxed subjects when observing a slow model, but no significant differences were found when subjects observed a fast model. State-anxious subjects imitated whether they were instructed to observe the model or not.