Two different problem solving situations involving the establishment of mental sets were used to investigate the effect of manifest anxiety upon ability to shift mental set. Findings show that tendency to shift to a more direct solution was inversely related to level of anxiety. Ss with high anxiety committed significantly fewer errors than Ss with low anxiety in a second study where word anagrams were used to establish mental sets. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)