Induced anxiety, defensive style and performance on the TAT

Situationally induced anxiety appears to be a positive, motivating force in college students when they are responding to the TAT. Under these conditions, subjects use more words and provide more preludes and outcomes to their stories than do subjects tested under non-anxiety-arousing conditions. While subjects do expend more effort and become more verbal when placed in an anxiety-arousing condition, they are still unable to enhance the quality of their stories in this environment. (JLN)