Effects of Microencapsulation on Sensorimotor and Cognitive Performance: Relationship to Personality Characteristics and Anxiety

摘要

The research examined the relationship between personality factors and the effects of microencapsulation in Mission Oriented Protective Posture level 4 (MOPP4) gear on performance and anxiety level. Acclimatization to the anxiety producing effects of MOPP4 was also investigated. For comparison purposes, subjects performed tasks and filled out questionnaires in both a Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) condition and MOPP4 condition. For each of the 12 volunteer military subjects, measures of subjective trait and state anxiety, self-reported personality traits, and various sensorimotor and cognitive performance measures were gathered. Personality factors, state and trait anxiety, and measures of sensorimotor and cognitive performance were related to each other in complex ways and to microencapsulation in MOPP gear. On the first day of donning MOPP4, subjects' state anxiety increased significantly. Over the course of five daily sessions of wearing MOPP4, the level of state anxiety decreased so that by the fifth day, the subjects no longer showed elevated state anxiety. Subjects who reported high levels of anxiety before or associated with introversion. Subjects who reported low anxiety before or after the daily test period reported characteristics associated with extraversion. Subjects who performed better on a balance beam task or correctly identified more visual stimuli on tachistoscope task tended to report characteristics of independence. (AW)