Perceived Stress during Videoterminal Use: A Preliminary Study

Modifications in stress, measured using Spielberger, et al.'s self-rating State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were assessed on working and rest days for bank employees making regular use of videodisplay terminals. While on work days state-anxiety increased over that on rest days, it did not vary with respect to amount of use of videodisplay terminals. Moreover, state-anxiety significantly covaried with scores on trait-anxiety. These findings suggest that, while increases in state-anxiety can be induced by use of videodisplay terminals, these are not proportional to the amount of use but rather depend on such factors as personality.