Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the dysfunctional effects of chronic worriers' low perception of control on patterns and time to search for information. The 29 low worriers and 29 high worriers, who were selected from 158 undergraduates, were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions. These subjects performed a computerized analogies task. The results were as follows. In the controllable threat condition, high worriers did more preservative responses compared to low worriers. But in the uncontrollable threat condition, differences between two groups were not significant. These results suggested that chronic worriers' low perception of control in the controllable threat condition led to repetitive information search. Therefore psychological intervention for chronic worriers should focus upon efficient information search. Also it was suggested that time limit was important to investigate the dysfunctional effects of chronic worriers' low perception of control on problem-solving.