Stress, Multitasking, and Executive Function

Abstract

Previous studies have shown an effect of stress on working memory. This study investigates the effect of stress levels on multitasking, processing speed, and verbal reasoning. Stress levels will be assessed using two scales, the Perception of Academic Stress Scale (PASS) and the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ). The PASS measures stress attributed to academics as all participants were enrolled college students. The PSQ measures stress attributed to general everyday stress. Participants will complete the Multi-tasking Assessment Test (MTAT), where response times are measured as multiple objects are classified into bins based on various features such as shape, size, and color. Participants will also complete a verbal reasoning test comprising 24 questions from the GRE Verbal Reasoning practice book. Finally, a version of the Digit Symbol Coding Task (DSCT) will be used to evaluate processing speed. In this test, participants identify whether a given digit-symbol pair matches a pair in a variable reference set. We expect to find that when stress levels are low, multitasking performance, processing speed, and verbal reasoning task performance were improved compared to participants who scored high on the PASS and PSQ. This study is ongoing; we hope to examine sources of variability in cognitive function, particularly executive functions such as reasoning and attention, that are associated with prefrontal cortical activity, that are sensitive to variation in stress and the release of stress hormones.

Details

Session 2

3:00pm – 4:30pm

Grand Salon