Anxiety and categorization-1. The structure and boundaries of mental categories

The current series of four studies assesses the relationship between trait anxiety and the way people categorize natural objects. Study 1 examines the relationship between trait anxiety and the rejection of nonprototype members of categories. Study 2 examines whether trait anxiety is related to the narrowing of the breadth of categories. Studies 3 and 4 assess the relationship between trait anxiety and the perceived relatedness of members of a same and different categories. Results show that as trait anxiety increases, more nonprototype members are rejected from membership in a category, the width of mental categories is narrowed, and the perceived relatedness of members of a same and different categories is reduced. Results were discussed in terms of the cognitive effects of anxiety.