A factor analytic study of manifest anxiety and abstract-concrete word recall

Abstract

The study included 96 psychology undergraduate volunteers at the Kansas State Teacher's College. After being assigned at random to abstract and concrete word treatment conditions, a word association task was completed. Then the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale was administered. A factor analysis was performed upon the results yielding 15 factors related to anxiety and one factor related to memory: (1) General Apprehension; (2) Perceived Self Effectiveness; (3) Abstract Recall and Situational Incongruity vs. Concrete Recall and Anxious Incongruity; (4) Lack of Self Confidence vs. Self Confidence; (5) Emotional Reaction; (6) Hypochondriasis; (7) Social Confidence; (8) Restless Behavior vs. Complacency; (9) Driven Determination; (10) Compensatory Self Confidence; (11) Emotional Control vs. Emotional Unconstraint; (12) Fear of Emotional Release vs. Emotional Release; (13) Emotional Sensitivity; (14) Nervous Inattention vs. Concentration; (15) Emotional Instability vs. Emotional Stability; (16) Nervous Release.