SOME SECONDARY DETERMINERS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS.

The study employed a four-choice, color discrimination task and electric shock in a simulated aircraft flight over hostile country to investigate certain secondary determiners of anticipatory physical threat stress which are presumed to be components of the perceived proximity of the unpleasant event. The findings suggest that the three secondary determiners of anticipatory physical threat stress investigated perceived time since the situation started, perceived time until the event occurs if it occurs, and time elapsed since the initial warning of the possible event occurrence are significant components of the perceived proximity of the unpleasant event, and that they interact in a complex manner. Further research is suggested to determine the nature of the interaction of these components over-time. A measure was devised which is considered to reflect differences in individual susceptibility to anticipatory physical threat stress. Author