Fear and performance in novice parachutists.

Tested 114 trainee parachutists (mean age 27.6 yrs) on 2 occasions during a 2-day training course. Test 1 was on Day 1 when no jumping occurred, while Test 2 either occurred on the afternoon of Day 1 (control group) or immediately prior to entering the aircraft for the 1st jump on the afternoon of Day 2 (fear group). Anxiety was assessed both subjectively (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) and by ambulatory heartrate monitoring, and a range of performance tests was given. Ss were significantly more anxious in the pre-jump fear condition on both measures. A significant decrement in performance was observed for digit span, logical reasoning test accuracy, and speed of letter search and visuo-spatial performance. Stroop Color and Word Test performance was not influenced by anxiety. There was no correlation between rated jump performance and either anxiety or personality (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire). (French, German & Japanese abstracts) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)