State Anxiety among Successful and Unsuccessful Competitors Who Differ in Competitive Trait Anxiety

The construct validity of SCAT was investigated by testing the hypothesis that persons high in competitive A-trait respond in competitive situations with higher levels of A-state than persons low in competitive A-trait. In addition, the study determined how success-failure affected A-state levels before, midway, and after a 20-game competition with a simulated opponent on a motor maze task. A sex × SCAT × success-failure (2 × 2 × 4) factorial design was used. Males and females who were either high or low in SCAT were randomly assigned to one of four success-failure conditions (win 80% of the games, win 50% of the games, win 20% of the games, or a noncompetition control). A-state scores were obtained initially in a noncompetitive situation, just prior to competing, midway through competition, and after competing. The results provided clear support for the construct validity of SCAT. In addition, A-state levels increased as the number of games won decreased. SCAT and success-failure both significantly predicted A-state levels at mid- and postcompetition, but did not interact to affect A-state levels.