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This research investigates the relation between climate anxiety, threat perceptions for future generations, and childbearing motivations in childless emerging adults. Using a sample of 1211 Swiss college students aged 18–25, the study explores if threat perceptions mediate the relationship between climate anxiety and childbearing motivations. Results from structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that climate anxiety significantly predicted greater perceptions of threat, which in turn related to less positive childbearing motivations and more negative childbearing motivations. Specifically, the relationship between climate anxiety and childbearing motivations was partly to fully explained by threat perceptions, suggesting that worries about the future environment could be an important factor in emerging adults' complex reproductive considerations. No gender moderation was found. These findings underscore the need for policy interventions that provide psychological support and targeted educational resources to assist young adults in navigating the complex interplay between climate anxiety, threat perceptions, and their decisions regarding childbearing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People perceive immigration as a source of uncertainty in the host society, making them more susceptible to the most extreme ideological messages that threaten a peaceful relationship between immigrants and the host population. One such message is the idea that immigrants threaten ingroup prerogatives. This, in turn, is related to prosocial and contesting behavioral intentions (negatively and positively, respectively). Implementing inclusive integration policies can create conditions for the institutionalization of norms that promote tolerance and mitigate the negative effects of threat, which can be particularly relevant when the population perceives an economic decline. We address this phenomenon by proposing an analytic model that predicts that the perceived state of the economy and inclusive policies moderate the impact of uncertainty on realistic threat and prosocial and contesting behavioral intentions toward immigrants. We used a 2 (self-uncertainty about immigration: high vs. low) × 2 (perception of economic conditions: decline vs. stability) × 2 (integration policies: very inclusive vs. not very inclusive) between-participants design (N = 579). Results indicated that realistic threat mediated the influence of uncertainty on behavioral intentions. Importantly, the results also confirmed the impact of an economic decline on participants' realistic threat in an uncertain immigration situation and showed that integration policy influences the relationship between realistic threat and prosocial and contestation behavioral intentions. We discuss the implications of these findings for the literature on the role of uncertainty and legitimacy in anti-immigrant attitudes. Public Significance Statement: With an economic decline imminent, the progress made so far to develop a peaceful relationship between immigrants and the host population may be in jeopardy. The findings of this study suggest that integration policies can be an essential tool in the struggle for an inclusive society by suppressing people's intentions to challenge immigrants' integration, even when they feel that they threaten the nation's resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explores the reasons that drive and hinder consumers' willingness to migrate to the metaverse. To determine them, a mixed‐methods approach is used: phase 1 (qualitative) involves conceptual development of a model based on in‐depth consumer interviews, and in phase 2, the conceptual model is empirically tested via structural equation modeling. Results show that social presence is a crucial enabler, while realistic and symbolic threats are significant inhibitors of the willingness to migrate. Preusage cognitive dissonance significantly mediates the relationships between social escapism, social pressure, realistic threat, symbolic threat, and willingness to migrate. Specifically, the mediating influence between empowerment and willingness to migrate is higher for individuals with low metaverse anxiety. Results of the artificial neural network technique indicate that social presence is the most significant antecedent of willingness to migrate, and results of the fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis highlight the presence of six distinct configurations that indicate a high willingness to migrate. This study enriches the behavioral reasoning theory by examining the interplay of the reasons influencing the willingness to migrate. Further, it contributes to the intergroup threat theory by investigating the potential link between willingness to migrate and the presence of realistic and symbolic threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infectious diseases have been posing frequent and significant threats to us. However, research on how disease threat affects consumer behavior, especially sensory responses, is still limited. In this study, drawing on the theory of compensatory consumption, we show that consumers under disease threat are less willing to buy products presented in a dense display. This is because disease threat activates a high‐density avoidance mindset, which is carried over to the way in which products are placed. Moreover, this effect is mitigated when diseases are noninfectious or when disinfectant products are displayed. A set of four studies, which adopt lab and field settings, using different manipulations and measures, provide convergent evidence for these effects. Specifically, Study 1 examines the main effect of disease threat on product display. Study 2 tests the mediating role of high‐density avoidance mindset as well as the moderating role of disease infectiousness. Study 3 proceeds to explore product type as the other boundary condition. Finally, Study 4 provides real world evidence through a field experiment. Furthermore, in these studies, five alternative explanations were ruled out to further clarify the psychological process. These findings offer valuable insights for retailers regarding product display strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accurate estimation of time‐to‐collision (TTC) is essential for the survival of organisms. Previous studies have revealed that the emotional properties of approaching stimuli can influence the estimation of TTC, indicating that approaching threatening stimuli are perceived to collide with the observers earlier than they actually do, and earlier than non‐threatening stimuli. However, not only are threatening stimuli more negative in valence, but they also have higher arousal compared to non‐threatening stimuli. Up to now, the effect of arousal on TTC estimation remains unclear. In addition, inconsistent findings may result from the different experimental settings employed in previous studies. To investigate whether the underestimation of TTC is attributed to threat or high arousal, three experiments with the same settings were conducted. In Experiment 1, the underestimation of TTC estimation of threatening stimuli was replicated when arousal was not controlled, in comparison to non‐threatening stimuli. In Experiments 2 and 3, the underestimation effect of threatening stimuli disappeared when compared to positive stimuli with similar arousal. These findings suggest that being threatening alone is not sufficient to explain the underestimation effect, and arousal also plays a significant role in the TTC estimation of approaching stimuli. Further studies are required to validate the effect of arousal on TTC estimation, as no difference was observed in Experiment 3 between the estimated TTC of high and low arousal stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the goals-plans-action (GPA) model, we explore how individuals encourage hesitant family members to get vaccinated for COVID-19. We test models analyzing how multiple goals mediate associations between (a) perceived threat to the family member’s health, (b) anticipated resistance, and (c) participants’ political ideology, with their (d) planning effort and (e) message features. Participants who perceive a greater threat, anticipate greater resistance, and are more liberal put greater emphasis on the primary goal, which in turn predicts greater effort, directness, and reason giving. Liberal participants also place less emphasis on secondary goals, and thus exert more pressure. Theoretical implications linking the GPA model with fear appeals and intergroup communication frameworks and practical implications for families and public health campaigns are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Cografya Fakültesi Dergisi DTCF Dergisi is the property of Ankara Universitesi Dil ve Tarih-Cografya Fakultesi (DTCF Dergisi) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Attention to emotional signals conveyed by others is critical for gleaning information about potential social partners and the larger social context. Children appear to detect social threats (e.g., angry faces) faster than non‐threatening social signals (e.g., neutral faces). However, methods that rely on behavioral responses alone are limited in identifying different attentional processes involved in threat detection or responding. To address this question, we used a visual search paradigm to assess behavioral (i.e., reaction time to select a target image) and attentional (i.e., eye‐tracking fixations, saccadic shifts, and dwell time) responses in children (ages 7–10 years old, N = 42) and adults (ages 18–23 years old, N = 46). In doing so, we compared behavioral responding and attentional detection and engagement with threatening (i.e., angry and fearful faces) and non‐threatening (i.e., happy faces) social signals. Overall, children and adults were faster to detect social threats (i.e., angry faces), but spent a smaller proportion of time dwelling on them and had slower behavioral responses. Findings underscore the importance of combining different measures to parse differences between processing versus responding to social signals across development. Research Highlights: Children and adults are slower to select angry faces when measured by time to mouse‐click but faster to detect angry faces when measured by time to first eye fixation.The use of eye‐tracking addresses some limitations of prior visual search tasks with children that rely on behavioral responses alone.Results suggest shorter time to first fixation, but subsequently, shorter duration of dwell on social threat in children and adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The word 'threat' currently proliferates in the public sphere, which contributes to the large-scale information spread of societal threats of our time. However, the difference of common sense that laypeople attribute to the concepts of 'threat', 'risk' and 'danger' remains unclear. Therefore, this research aims to fill the social psychological knowledge gap and investigate laypeople's common sense of 'societal threat'. Participants (N = 186) were asked to complete the word association task, and their narratives (N = 1,146) were analysed using two complementary research methods: the automatized methods of multidimensional analysis and the classic method of qualitative content analysis. The concept of 'societal threat' has been associated most frequently with specific large-scale societal issues that are tainted by uncertainty, and a range of primarily negative feelings and emotions. Additionally, the conceptually and semantically close concepts of 'risk' and 'danger' have not been associated, on the lexical basis, with the concept of 'societal threat'. The implications for an improved systemic understanding of actual societal threats' features and related social psychological applications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Threat cues have been widely shown to elicit increased sensory and attentional neural processing. However, whether this enhanced recruitment leads to measurable behavioral improvements in perception is still in question. Here, we adjudicate between two opposing theories: that threat cues do or do not enhance perceptual sensitivity. We created threat stimuli by pairing one direction of motion in a random dot kinematogram with an aversive sound. While in the MRI scanner, 46 subjects (both men and women) completed a cued (threat/safe/neutral) perceptual decision-making task where they indicated the perceived motion direction of each moving dot stimulus. We found strong evidence that threat cues did not increase perceptual sensitivity compared with safe and neutral cues. This lack of improvement in perceptual decision-making ability occurred despite the threat cue resulting in widespread increases in frontoparietal BOLD activity, as well as increased connectivity between the right insula and the frontoparietal network. These results call into question the intuitive claim that expectation automatically enhances our perception of threat and highlight the role of the frontoparietal network in prioritizing the processing of threat-related environmental cues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terrorism continues to be an enigmatic and contested concept, lacking a universally accepted definition despite extensive scholarly debate. Lay intuitions, however, demonstrate a notable convergence in identifying acts as "terrorism" when specific situational features are present, such as indiscriminate violence and out-group perpetration. These features elicit predictable and robust precautionary responses, raising the question: Is there a unified and parsimonious explanation for these phenomena? It is hypothesized that a situational template exists in the human mind, the coalitional predation template (CPT), which evolved not to detect modern-day terrorism, per se, but to identify and respond to situations of predatory coalitional conflict. The paper examines the potential cues and mechanisms that constitute the psychological systems activated by such threats, suggesting that matching the input cues of the CPT triggers well-documented precautionary responses to terrorism. However, this cue-based system may not align neatly with contemporary threats, leading to disproportionate responses to some threats while underestimating others. The model also posits that interpretations of violence can vary due to incomplete cues and the social position of the evaluator, leading to public disagreements and inconsistencies in defining terrorism. Consequently, arriving at an unambiguous and widely accepted definition of terrorism may not be possible. The model presented may account for a range of phenomena, including the inclination towards attributing mental illness to particular violent incidents and the uncanny surface similarities between terrorism and war crimes. The findings have significant implications for both the theoretical understanding of terrorism and practical policy responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The neural basis of threat perception has mostly been examined separately for social or physical threats. However, most of the threats encountered in everyday life are complex. The features of interactions between social and physiological threats under different attentional conditions are unclear. Method: The present study explores this issue using an attention-guided paradigm based on ERP techniques. The screen displays social threats (face threats) and physical threats (action threats), instructing participants to concentrate on only one type of threat, thereby exploring brain activation characteristics. Results: It was found that action threats did not affect the processing of face threats in the face-attention condition, and electrophysiological evidence from the brain suggests a comparable situation to that when processing face threats alone, with higher amplitudes of the N170 and EPN (Early Posterior Negativity) components of anger than neutral emotions. However, when focusing on the action-attention condition, the brain was affected by face threats, as evidenced by a greater N190 elicited by stimuli containing threatening emotions, regardless of whether the action was threatening or not. This trend was also reflected in EPN. Conclusions: The current study reveals important similarities and differences between physical and social threats, suggesting that the brain has a greater processing advantage for social threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Psychopathic traits are associated with abnormalities in fear processing. While traditional theories focus on a lack of fear, Hosker‐Field et al. (2016) provided a new perspective. They suggested that individuals with elevated psychopathic traits may experience threatening situations with appreciation or positivity, resulting in reduced negative fear responses and heightened positive responses (fear enjoyment hypothesis, FEH). Method: Our study aimed to refine Hosker‐Field et al.'s (2016) study design, addressing methodological limitations and improving the inconsistent operationalization of fear experience in the literature. In an online sample of 353 participants from the general population, we examined the relationship between the FEH and relevant psychopathic traits, specifically those derived from the PCL‐R framework (i.e., SRP 4 Factor 1), and from a more trait‐based approach to psychopathy with assumed links to fearlessness (i.e., TriPM Boldness). Results: By employing linear mixed effect models, we extended Hosker‐Field et al.'s correlational analysis and provided further evidence for the FEH, particularly in relation to psychopathic traits measured using the PCL‐R framework. The results regarding Boldness, however, are somewhat inconclusive. Conclusion: The present study enhances existing research on fear deficits in psychopathy by assessing the subjective experience of individuals facing threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Anticipatory anxiety and heightened responses to uncertainty are central features of anxiety disorders (ADs) that contribute to clinical impairment. Anxiety symptoms typically emerge during childhood, and even subthreshold‐AD symptoms are associated with distress and risk for future psychopathology. This study compared facial emotional response to threat and uncertainty between preadolescent girls with ADs, girls with subthreshold‐AD symptoms, and controls. Methods: Facial emotional responding was characterized in preadolescent girls (age 8–11) with a range of anxiety symptoms: no/low anxiety (controls, n = 41), subthreshold‐AD (n = 73), and DSM‐5 diagnoses of separation, social, and/or generalized ADs (n = 45). A threat anticipation paradigm examined how image valence (negative/neutral) and image anticipation (uncertain/certain timing) impacted activity of the corrugator supercilii, a forehead muscle implicated in the "frown" response that is modulated by emotional stimuli (negative > neutral). Corrugator magnitude and corrugator timecourse were compared between groups. Results: Findings demonstrate greater corrugator activity during anticipation and viewing of negative stimuli, as well as increased corrugator reactivity in subthreshold‐AD and AD girls. Timecourse analyses of negative versus neutral stimuli revealed that AD and subthreshold‐AD girls had greater uncertainty‐related increases in corrugator activity compared to controls. Conclusion: Results extend the physiological characterization of childhood pathological anxiety, highlighting the impact of subthreshold‐AD symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One reason why the COVID‐19 pandemic presented a challenge to public health is that individuals struggled to adhere to virus protective behaviors, such as physical distancing. To aid understanding why people engaged in distancing practices, we investigated the role of threat perceptions and the moralization of physical distancing. We collected longitudinal data from 340 US citizens across five measurement waves from April 2020 to June 2021. Results showed that individuals who perceived COVID‐19 as more threatening, and those who more strongly moralized physical distancing, were more likely to engage in physical distancing behavior. Moreover, the effect of threat perceptions on physical distancing behavior was mediated by moralization of physical distancing. These results provide new insights into the adherence to physical distancing behaviors during pandemics and underscore the importance of moralization in shaping behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Mega-threats"--negative, identity-relevant societal events that receive significant media attention--are frequent occurrences in society, yet the influence of these events on employees remains unclear. We draw on the theory of racialized organizations to explain the process whereby exposure to mega-threats leads to heightened avoidant work behaviors for racialminority employees. We theorize and find--across two studies centered upon various mega-threats, including a mass shooting targeting Asian Americans and police killings of Black civilians--that event observers who share identities with mega-threat victims become vicarious victims, which triggers an experience of "embodied threat," an appraisal of the increased likelihood of personally encountering identity-based harm. The experience of embodied threat coupled with the racialized nature of organizational structures, which limits the agency of racial minorities, then compels employees to engage in threat suppression. Furthermore, we find that threat suppression consumes psychological resources, leading to heightened avoidant work behaviors, or higher work withdrawal and lower social engagement, but, when the psychological safety of identity-based discussions is high, it attenuates this effect. Altogether, our paper advances research on mega-threats and race in organizations, and yields practical insights that can assist managers in reducing the detrimental effects of mega-threats on employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: COVID-19 pandemic causes serious threats to people's mental health, particularly it has huge negative mental health outcomes for adolescents. However, there is lack of studies examining COVID-19-related anxiety among adolescents in Ethiopia. Hence, this study was aimed to examine COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety and its associated factors among adolescents in Mettu town. Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September 1 to 30, 2020 among 847 adolescents selected by stratified sampling technique. IBM SPSS Statistics Version 26.0 was used for analysis. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were computed. Bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were done to identify factors associated with COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety. The statistical significance was declared at p ≤ 0.05; and the strength of association was described in terms of adjusted odds ratio. Results: Out of the total sample, 819 adolescents participated in this study. The mean age of the participants was 14.9 (SD = 2.798) years. The magnitude of COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety was found to be 20.9% (95% CI (18.1, 23.9)). The finding indicates that sex [(AOR (95% CI)); (0.724 (0.502, 1.043))], having both parents deceased [(AOR (95% CI)); (2.981 (1.138, 7.814))], living alone [(AOR (95% CI)); (2.363 (1.050, 5.321))], having unemployed mothers [(AOR (95% CI)); (1.943 (1.194, 3.163))], absence of close friend [(AOR (95% CI)); (0.377 (0.225, 0.630))], and medical problem [(AOR (95% CI)); (0.408 (0.278, 0.597))] were significantly associated with COVID-19-related anxiety. Conclusion: The magnitude of COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety was found to be high in the study area. The findings have shown that the likelihood of developing COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety was linked to several factors. Provision of continued psychological support for adolescents is extremely encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how incidental exposure to political information on social media can lead to political tolerance toward minorities by facilitating exposure to pro-minority content on social media and perceived threat of minorities conditions this mechanism. Using survey data from a non-Western democracy, the study finds that exposure to incidental exposure to political information on social media can propel pro-minority content exposure on social media, fostering increased political tolerance of religious minorities. It demonstrates the democratic role of incidental exposure on social media in fostering political tolerance toward minorities via increasing exposure to pro-minority content. However, the positive indirect effect is significant only for those perceiving low to medium threat levels from religious minorities. The study discusses the democratic implications of the findings and presents the limitations and suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fear overgeneralization and perceived uncertainty about future outcomes have been suggested as risk factors for clinical anxiety. However, little is known regarding how they influence each other. In this study, we investigated whether different levels of threat uncertainty influence fear generalization. Three groups of healthy participants underwent a differential fear conditioning protocol followed by a generalization test. All groups learned to associate one female face (conditioned stimulus, CS+) with a female scream (unconditioned stimulus, US), whereas the other face (CS−) was not associated with the scream. In order to manipulate threat uncertainty, one group (low uncertainty, n = 26) received 80%, the second group (moderate uncertainty, n = 32) received 60%, and the third group (high uncertainty, n = 30) 40% CS‐US contingency. In the generalization test, all groups saw CS+ and CS− again along with four morphs resembling the CSs in steps of 20%. Subjective (expectancy, valence, and arousal ratings), psychophysiological (skin conductance response, SCR), and visuocortical (steady‐state visual evoked potentials, ssVEPs) indices of fear were registered. Participants expected the US according to their reinforcement schedules and the discriminative responses to CS+/CS− increased with more uncertainty in skin conductance. However, acquisition of conditioned fear was not evident in ssVEPs. During the generalization test, we found no effect of threat uncertainty in any of the measured variables, but the strength of generalization for threat expectancy ratings was positively correlated with dispositional intolerance of uncertainty. This study suggests that mere threat uncertainty does not modulate fear generalization. Despite the role of uncertainty regarding future events in clinical anxiety, our findings point to no effect of experimentally induced threat uncertainty on fear generalization. We provide evidence that fear generalization remained unaffected regardless of different threat expectations, as indexed by cognitive and affective ratings, skin conductance responses, and steady‐state visual evoked potentials. Nevertheless, dispositional intolerance of uncertainty was associated with more generalized threat expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Romantic relationship dissolution and its aftermath have rarely been investigated through the lens of face threat. This research delves into the communication of relationship dissolution, and argues that rejectees' perceived face threat of dissolution language, when interacting with their self-concept clarity (attachment style and pre-dissolution commitment) can have an impact on their recovery length. I recruited 246 undergraduate participants who have experienced relationship dissolution as a rejectee and have recovered from the dissolution. Participants filled out a survey to assess their perceived face threat from rejectors' dissolution language, attachment styles, and pre-dissolution commitment. Model fit of perceived face threat measure was tested, and path analysis model was run. Results show that rejectees' perceived face threat of dissolution language and pre-dissolution commitment significantly lengthen their recovery period. Rejectees' attachment style does not have a direct impact on their recovery, but mediates through perceived face threat. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study used a combination of the Threat-of-Shock paradigm and the Attention Network Test (ANT) to investigate how induced anxiety affects alerting, orienting, and executive control and whether individual differences in threat sensitivity moderate these effects. Forty-two female subjects completed the ANT task in alternation under shock-threat and no-shock ("safe") conditions while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. The results showed that anxiety induced by the threat of shock had a significant impact on alerting and executive control functions at the neural level. Specifically, alerting-related N1 and stimulus-preceding negativity (SPN) differences between double cue and no cue conditions were greater in the threat versus safe state, suggesting that the induced anxiety promoted the early perception of cues and preparation for the target. Moreover, executive control-related P3 and sustained potential (SP) differences between incongruent and congruent trials were greater in the threat versus safe state, indicating that the induced anxiety might improve the attentional allocation efficiency and stimulate subjects to recruit more cognitive resources to resolve conflicts. However, orienting-related ERPs were not affected by the threat of shock, but the threat of shock promoted the processing efficiency of spatial-cue at the behavioral level. Analysis of individual differences revealed that trait anxiety moderated the attentional allocation efficiency when performing executive control related tasks in the threat versus safe state. Our findings demonstrate the adaptive significance of the threat of shock-induced anxiety in that being in an anxious state can enhance individuals' alerting, orienting, and executive functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant psychological distress worldwide. It is important to enhance our understanding of the interpersonal and intrapersonal processes that can be addressed to promote psychological well-being after experiencing an adverse event like a pandemic. Therefore, to understand the direct and indirect associations between distress tolerance and diverse psychological outcomes following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we examined whether perceived COVID-19 threat mediates the association between distress tolerance and several psychological outcomes (i.e., psychological well-being, depression, anxiety, and stress). We also investigated whether social support moderates the indirect associations between distress tolerance and these psychological outcomes. We collected online survey data between April and July 2020 from individuals living in Canada (N = 139). Moderated mediation analyses indicated higher distress tolerance was associated with lower perceived COVID-19 threat which in turn was associated with higher psychological well-being, and lower depression and stress. Additionally, social support satisfaction enhanced the indirect association between distress tolerance and psychological well-being. Our findings may inform the design of interventions that promote psychological well-being after the onset of an adversity like the COVID-19 pandemic by presenting distress tolerance, perceived threat, and social support as targets for intervention. Future research should investigate the moderating role of different types of social support on the association between distress tolerance and psychological outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research supports an association between threatening experiences in childhood and psychosis. It is possible that early threat exposure disrupts the development of emotion recognition (specifically, producing a bias for facial expressions relating to threat) and the brain structures subserving it, contributing to psychosis development. Using data from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, we examined associations between threat exposure and both the misattribution of facial expressions to fear/anger in an emotion recognition task, and gray matter volumes in key emotion processing regions. Our sample comprised youth with psychosis spectrum symptoms (N = 304), control youth (N = 787), and to evaluate specificity, youth with internalizing symptoms (N = 92). The moderating effects of group and sex were examined. Both the psychosis spectrum and internalizing groups had higher levels of threat exposure than controls. In the total sample, threat exposure was associated with lower left medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) volume but not misattributions to fear/anger. The effects of threat exposure did not significantly differ by group or sex. The findings of this study provide evidence for an effect of threat exposure on mPFC morphology, but do not support an association between threat exposure and a recognition bias for threat-related expressions, that is particularly pronounced in psychosis. Future research should investigate factors linking transdiagnostic alterations related to threat exposure with psychotic symptoms, and attempt to clarify the mechanisms underpinning emotion recognition misattributions in threat-exposed youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power, the capacity to influence others while resisting their attempts at influence, has implications for a wide variety of individual‐ and relationship‐level outcomes. One potential mechanism through which power may be associated with various outcomes is motivation orientation. High power has been linked to greater approach‐oriented motivation, whereas low power has been linked to greater avoidance‐oriented motivation. However, current research has mostly relied on artificially created relationships (and the power dynamics therein) in the lab to assess the associations between power and motivation orientations. Utilizing the Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat framework, the current study examined how power is related to physiological responses indicative of psychological challenge (i.e., approach) and threat (i.e., avoidance) during discussions of problems outside of the relationship between romantic partners. The primary hypothesis that higher power would be associated with more approach‐oriented challenge and less avoidance‐oriented threat was supported via self‐reports, but not via physiological assessments. Instead, physiological assessments revealed that for those disclosing problems to high‐power partners, greater power was associated with reactivity consistent with more avoidance‐oriented threat and less approach‐oriented challenge. This is the first research to examine associations between power and in vivo indices of challenge and threat during interactions between romantic partners. It advances our understanding of how power elicits motivation orientations and influences the stress response system by highlighting the importance of situational attributes (e.g., role during a conversation) that may undermine power during disclosures with a high‐power partner. This study incorporates the Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat with the Approach‐Inhibition Theory of Power using a dimensional, dyadic approach to assess power in pre‐existing relationships. We highlight the importance of co‐examining self‐report and physiological markers of stress. Despite self‐reports suggesting people high in power appraised a conversation as challenging, physiological findings revealed a specific context during which greater power was unexpectedly associated with physiological markers of threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scarcity refers to a state in which an individual's resources do not satisfy his/her needs. A sense of scarcity evokes negative emotions. A fundamental strategy for coping with this negative threat is for people to emphasize the desirability of their personal traits. In this study, a 2 (sense of scarcity: high or low) × 2 (valence: positive or negative) mixed-design experiment was conducted to examine whether and how a sense of scarcity affected one's self-evaluation. Participants were assigned randomly to a high- or low-scarcity group. The chances of assistance rendered to an individual during a word puzzle task were manipulated to induce a high or low sense of scarcity. Then, participants were asked to make positive and negative trait judgments of themselves compared with their average peers. The results showed that people judged their personalities to be more desirable (i.e., more positive and less negative traits) than their average peers, manifesting the above-average effect. More importantly, people with a high sense of scarcity manifested a greater above-average effect than those with a low sense of scarcity. This study suggests that people could highlight their positive aspects to cope with predicaments in social life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Philosophy, Culture & Political Science is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The current study explored the impact of the association between attachment anxiety and perceived relationship threat on information-seeking in new romantic relationships. Data used for the current study was collected for a larger study and included 62 heterosexual and non-heterosexual couples (n = 124). First, participants completed an online survey, which measured attachment anxiety. Next, the couple came into the lab for a getting-to-know-you task, in which they reported on their own and perceived partner's preferences to 16 relationship topics (e.g., wanting children), and then had the option to view their partner's responses. It was hypothesized that higher levels of perceived relationship threat (i.e., perceived discrepancies in relationship preferences with one's partner) would predict higher levels of information-seeking. Additionally, it was hypothesized that individuals higher in attachment anxiety would engage in more information-seeking by choosing to view more of their partner's self-reported relationship preferences. Lastly, it was hypothesized that attachment style would moderate the association between perceived relationship threat and information-seeking. Consistent with the hypotheses, the results showed a positive association between attachment anxiety and informationseeking, as well as a marginally significant positive association between perceived relationship threat and information-seeking. However, there was no significant interaction between attachment anxiety and perceived relationship threat on informationseeking. These results provide valuable insight into the heightened information-seeking tendencies of those higher in attachment anxiety in early-stage relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research has established that status threat leads consumers to display status-related products such as luxury brands. While compensatory consumption within the domain of the status threat (e.g. products associated with financial and professional success) is the most straightforward way to cope with comparisons to high-status individuals, we examine when, why, and how consumers cope with status threat by choosing to "pivot" and display success and achievements in alternative domains. Using a mixed-method approach combining field and lab experiments, incentive-compatible designs, netnographic analysis, observational study, and qualitative interviews, we show that consumers cope with status threat by signaling their status and success in alternative domains. We conceptualize this behavior as "status pivoting" and show that it occurs because experiencing status threat motivates consumers to adopt beliefs about tradeoffs across domains; that is, to believe that status acquisition requires tradeoffs and hence others' success in one domain comes at the cost of success in another domain. We compare the prevalence and appeal of status pivoting to restoring status within the domain of the threat. We further examine when consumers are likely to engage in status pivoting and show that this effect is attenuated when high status within the domain of the threat is attainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research shows that negative or threatening emotional stimuli can foster movement velocity and force. However, less is known about how evaluative threat may influence movement parameters in endurance exercise. Based on social self-preservation theory, the authors predicted that evaluative threat would facilitate effort expenditure in physical exercise. In an exploratory study, 27 young men completed a bogus intelligence test and received either low-intelligence-quotient feedback (evaluative threat) or no feedback (control). Next, they were asked to pedal on a stationary bicycle for 30 min at a constant cadence. After 10 min (calibration period), the cadence display was hidden. Findings show that participants under evaluative threat increased cadence more than control participants during the subsequent 20-min critical period. These findings underline the potential importance of unrelated evaluative threat on physical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, anti‐immigration movements have emerged and aim to gain the attention and support of the public. In two studies (Study 1, N = 775, student sample; Study 2, N = 500, non student sample) we investigated the role of positive and negative intergroup contact to predict support for anti‐immigration movements from native Germans in a context of a recent intergroup conflict. Using path analysis, we analyzed the mediating processes of threat perceptions for the intentions to engage in collective action against immigration policies and the justification of the protests. Extending previous research on collective action, intergroup contact and threat, we further tested the moderating role of the identification with Germany. Findings from both studies supported the predictive power of intergroup contact as well as the mediating role of threat for collective action intentions and the justification of protests. Our results suggest that behavioral support was predicted by a strong identification with the threatened ingroup, whereass passive support was not. These findings highlighting the role importance of identification for movement support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Threat generalisation is an adaptive process that is essential for individual survival. In contrast, over‐generalisation is a pathological process that underlies the development of anxiety disorders. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is an individual characteristic known to influence threat generalisation by altering the responses to threat in uncertain situations. However, how it affects contextual threat generalisation remains unclear. Here, we used a novel paradigm to investigate whether contextual threat generalisation varied between individuals depending on their IU level (high or low) and the predictability of a situation (predictable or unpredictable). We analysed shock expectancy in 82 participants (age: 18–27 years) during threat acquisition and generalisation. Results showed that compared with the low IU group, the high IU group exhibited increased contextual threat generalisation to threat‐related cues in unpredictable situation. These findings suggest that IU could be a marker for anxiety disorder susceptibility, as well as a target for anxiety treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over a decade and a half of research has resulted in inconsistent evidence for the efficacy of d-cycloserine (DCS), a partial glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate agonist, for augmenting exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety- and fear-based disorders. These variable findings have motivated the search for moderators of DCS augmentation efficacy. In this secondary analysis of a previous randomized clinical trial, we evaluated the value of de novo threat conditioning outcomes—degree of threat acquisition, extinction, and extinction retention—for predicting treatment response to exposure-based CBT for social anxiety disorder, applied with and without DCS augmentation in a sample of 59 outpatients. We found that average differential skin conductance response (SCR) during extinction and extinction retention significantly moderated the prediction of clinical response to DCS: participants with poorer extinction and extinction retention showed relatively improved treatment response with DCS. No such effects were found for expectancy ratings, consistent with accounts of DCS selectively aiding lower-order but not higher-order extinction learning. These findings provide support for extinction and extinction retention outcomes from threat conditioning as potential pre-treatment biomarkers for DCS augmentation benefits. Independent of DCS augmentation, the current study did not support threat conditioning outcomes as useful for predicting response to exposure-based CBT. • De novo threat extinction and retention predict clinical response to d-cycloserine. • Skin conductance but not expectancy provide prediction of clinical outcome. • Threat conditioning may provide a biomarker of the efficacy of cognitive enhancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A widely shared framework suggests that anxiety maps onto two dimensions: anxious apprehension and anxious arousal. Previous research linked individual differences in these dimensions to differential neural response patterns in neuropsychological, imaging, and physiological studies. Differential effects of the anxiety dimensions might contribute to inconsistencies in prior studies that examined neural processes underlying anxiety, such as hypersensitivity to unpredictable threat. We investigated the association between trait worry (as a key component of anxious apprehension), anxious arousal, and the neural processing of anticipated threat. From a large online community sample (N = 1,603), we invited 136 participants with converging and diverging worry and anxious arousal profiles into the laboratory. Participants underwent the NPU-threat test with alternating phases of unpredictable threat, predictable threat, and safety, while physiological responses (startle reflex and startle probe locked event-related potential components N1 and P3) were recorded. Worry was associated with increased startle responses to unpredictable threat and increased attentional allocation (P3) to startle probes in predictable threat anticipation. Anxious arousal was associated with increased startle and N1 in unpredictable threat anticipation. These results suggest that trait variations in the anxiety dimensions shape the dynamics of neural processing of threat. Specifically, trait worry seems to simultaneously increase automatic defensive preparation during unpredictable threat and increase attentional responding to threat-irrelevant stimuli during predictable threat anticipation. The current study highlights the utility of anxiety dimensions to understand how physiological responses during threat anticipation are altered in anxiety and supports that worry is associated with hypersensitivity to unpredictable, aversive contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A central question in Pavlovian conditioning concerns the critical conditions that drive the acquisition and maintenance of the stimulus-outcome association. The spatial relationship between the conditioned (CS) and unconditioned (US) stimuli is considered to exert strong effects on learning. However, how spatial information modulates Pavlovian learning remains mostly unexplored in humans. Here, we test how the compatibility between the CS and the US location influences the acquisition, extinction, and recovery (following reinstatement) of Pavlovian conditioned threat. Participants (N = 20) completed a differential threat conditioning task in which visual CSs appeared on the same (compatible) or opposite (incompatible) hemispace as the US delivery (aversive shock to one hand), while their skin conductance response served as an index of learning. Results show that initial threat expectations were biased in favor of compatible CSs before conditioning. Nevertheless, this bias was revised during acquisition to reflect current stimulus-outcome contingencies. Computational modeling suggested that this effect occurred through a higher reliance on positive aversive prediction errors for incompatible CSs, thereby facilitating learning of their association with the US. Additionally, the conditioned response to incompatible CSs was associated with initially slower extinction and a greater recovery after threat reinstatement. These findings suggest that spatial information conveyed by stimuli and outcomes can be flexibly used to enact defensive responses to the current source of danger, highlighting the adaptive nature of Pavlovian learning. • Stimulus-outcome spatial relationship strongly influences associative learning. • Initial threat expectations are biased for stimuli compatible with the outcome. • This bias is revised during learning to reflect stimulus-outcome contingencies. • Thus, learning is not a passive reflection of initial expectations. • Spatial information of stimuli and outcomes is adaptively used during learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selectively attending to threat‐related stimuli in the environment, known as threat bias (TB), is a prominent feature of anxiety. Individuals with high anxiety also tend to show lower heart rate variability (HRV), a reflection of reduced parasympathetic cardiac control. Previous investigations have established associations between low HRV and various attentional processes that facilitate attention to threat, though these have primarily been conducted among non‐anxious individuals. The current analysis, derived from a larger TB modification study, examined the relationship between TB and HRV among a young, nonclinical sample of individuals with either high or low trait anxiety (HTA, LTA, respectively; Mage = 25.8, SD = 13.2, 61.3% female). Consistent with expectations, HTA (β = −.18, p =.087) trended toward an association with higher threat vigilance. A significant moderation effect showed the relationship between HRV and threat vigilance was influenced by TA (β =.42, p =.004). Simple slopes analysis revealed that for the LTA group, lower HRV trended toward higher threat vigilance (p =.123), consistent with expectations. However, this relationship was unexpectedly reversed for the HTA group, for whom higher HRV was a significant predictor of higher threat vigilance (p =.015). These results are interpreted within a cognitive control framework, in which regulatory ability, as assessed via HRV, may influence which cognitive strategy is employed when encountering threatening stimuli. Results suggest that HTA individuals with greater regulatory ability may employ a contrast avoidance mechanism, while those with reduced regulatory ability engage in cognitive avoidance. This is one of the few studies investigating the relationship between vigilance toward threat‐related content (engagement threat bias), trait anxiety, and heart rate variability (HRV). Our findings support an expected association of lower HRV with greater threat vigilance among low trait anxious individuals; however, this relationship is unexpectedly reversed among high trait anxious individuals, with higher HRV predicting greater threat vigilance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: COVID-19, a serious respiratory disease that has the potential to affect numerous organs, is a serious threat to the health of people around the world. The objective of this article is to investigate the potential biological targets and mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 affects benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and related symptoms. Methods: We downloaded the COVID-19 datasets (GSE157103 and GSE166253) and the BPH datasets (GSE7307 and GSE132714) from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. In GSE157103 and GSE7307, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found using the “Limma” package, and the intersection was utilized to obtain common DEGs. Further analyses followed, including those using Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI), Gene Ontology (GO) function enrichment analysis, and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Potential hub genes were screened using three machine learning methods, and they were later verified using GSE132714 and GSE166253. The CIBERSORT analysis and the identification of transcription factors, miRNAs, and drugs as candidates were among the subsequent analyses. Results: We identified 97 common DEGs from GSE157103 and GSE7307. According to the GO and KEGG analyses, the primary gene enrichment pathways were immune-related pathways. Machine learning methods were used to identify five hub genes (BIRC5, DNAJC4, DTL, LILRB2, and NDC80). They had good diagnostic properties in the training sets and were validated in the validation sets. According to CIBERSORT analysis, hub genes were closely related to CD4 memory activated of T cells, T cells regulatory and NK cells activated. The top 10 drug candidates (lucanthone, phytoestrogens, etoposide, dasatinib, piroxicam, pyrvinium, rapamycin, niclosamide, genistein, and testosterone) will also be evaluated by the P value, which is expected to be helpful for the treatment of COVID-19-infected patients with BPH.Conclusion: Our findings reveal common signaling pathways, possible biological targets, and promising small molecule drugs for BPH and COVID-19. This is crucial to understand the potential common pathogenic and susceptibility pathways between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study investigated the effects of age-based stereotype threat on neuropsychological assessment outcomes in an older adult population. Community volunteers (n = 49) age 65 and older were screened for cognitive impairment, depression, and anticholinergic medication use. Screened individuals were randomly stratified into either an ABST or a Control group. All participants were administered a broad range of neuropsychological measures of cognition as well as a self-rating measure assessing subjective concern about cognitive ability. A main effect of ABST on subjective concern about cognitive ability was supported. Specifically, individuals in the ABST group were significantly more likely to attribute their memory errors to the onset of dementia (F(1,41) = 5.334, p =.026). However, results showed no significant difference between groups on objective neuropsychological performance measures. The current study discusses the importance of considering ABST effects in the context of neuropsychological assessment in older adult populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the "sense of threat" and "sense of challenge" among Holocaust survivors and second‐ and third‐generation cohorts during the first coronavirus lockdown in Israel. Background: Aging, especially among people who experienced trauma during their early years, as did Holocaust survivors, can be challenging when unusual circumstances, such as the coronavirus pandemic, coincide with it. Studies are inconclusive regarding the effect of transgenerational transmission of trauma of survivors to their offspring. Methods: 129 participants filled out a questionnaire based on Lazarus and Folkman's cognitive theory of psychological stress and coping. Data were collected through online questionnaires or phone interviews. Results: All generations reported "feeling this is a difficult situation." Compared with the second generation, survivors reported a significantly higher "sense of threat" and significantly lower "sense of challenge." Discussion: This study found that all generations felt some degree of vulnerability, although their response overall was resilient. Implications: Awareness of the harmful effects of stressful life events on the vulnerable Holocaust survivors and their descendants has prompted the need to establish support systems that can be activated to assist them. Future research should also investigate whether these reactions were prevalent among Holocaust survivors and their descendants in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Postural threat elicits modifications to standing balance. However, the underlying neural mechanism(s) responsible remain unclear. Shifts in attention focus including directing more attention to balance when threatened may contribute to the balance changes. Sample entropy, a measure of postural sway regularity with lower values reflecting less automatic and more conscious control of balance, may support attention to balance as a mechanism to explain threatinduced balance changes. The main objectives were to investigate the effects of postural threat on sample entropy, and the relationships between threat-induced changes in physiological arousal, perceived anxiety, attention focus, sample entropy, and traditional balance measures. A secondary objective was to explore if biological sex influenced these relationships. Methods: Healthy young adults (63 females, 42 males) stood quietly on a force plate without (No Threat) and with (Threat) the expectation of receiving a postural perturbation (i.e., forward/backward support surface translation). Mean electrodermal activity and anterior–posterior centre of pressure (COP) sample entropy, mean position, root mean square, mean power frequency, and power within low (0–0.05 Hz), medium (0.5–1.8 Hz), and high-frequency (1.8–5 Hz) components were calculated for each trial. Perceived anxiety and attention focus to balance, task objectives, threat-related stimuli, self-regulatory strategies, and task-irrelevant information were rated after each trial. Results and Discussion: Significant threat effects were observed for all measures, except low-frequency sway. Participants were more physiologically aroused, more anxious, and directed more attention to balance, task objectives, threatrelated stimuli, and self-regulatory strategies, and less to task-irrelevant information in the Threat compared to No Threat condition. Participants also increased sample entropy, leaned further forward, and increased the amplitude and frequency of COP displacements, including medium and high-frequency sway, when threatened. Males and females responded in the same way when threatened, except males had significantly larger threat-induced increases in attention to balance and high-frequency sway. A combination of sex and threatinduced changes in physiological arousal, perceived anxiety, and attention focus accounted for threat-induced changes in specific traditional balance measures, but not sample entropy. Increased sample entropy when threatened may reflect a shift to more automatic control. Directing more conscious control to balance when threatened may act to constrain these threat-induced automatic changes to balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A summary of counterintelligence threat chokepoints from the perspectives of the United States, Israel, the European Union, Nordic countries, and South Africa are presented. These chokepoints seem to stem from geopolitical competitiveness and manifest as espionage, subversion, terrorism, and covert action in any accessible domain possible. The discussion of threat focus areas has been chosen after consideration of the ontology of such threats, including new security challenges like hybrid threats, grey-zone influences, and some specific threats propagated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion concludes with a brief view on counterintelligence threat enablers, accelerators, and effects. The aim is to provide a comparative view of existing counterintelligence threats, agendas, and threat responses to increase both awareness and resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neighborhood threats can increase risk for externalizing problems, including aggressive, oppositional, and delinquent behavior. Yet, there is substantial variability in how youth respond to neighborhood threats. Difficulty with cognitive functioning, particularly in the face of emotional information, may increase risk for externalizing in youth who live in neighborhoods with higher threats. However, little research has examined: 1) associations between neighborhood threats and executive networks involved in cognitive functioning or 2) whether executive networks may amplify risk for externalizing in the context of neighborhood threats. Further, most research on neighborhood threats does not account for youth's experiences in other social contexts. Utilizing the large, sociodemographically diverse cohort of youth (ages 9–10) included in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM Study, we identified four latent profiles of youth based on threats in their neighborhoods, families, and schools: low threat in all contexts, elevated family threat, elevated neighborhood threat, and elevated threat in all contexts. The elevated neighborhood threat and elevated all threat profiles showed lower behavioral performance on an emotional n-back task relative to low threat and elevated family threat profiles. Lower behavioral performance in the elevated neighborhood threat profile specifically was paralleled by lower executive network activity during a cognitive challenge. Moreover, among youth with lower executive network activity, higher probability of membership in the elevated neighborhood threat profile was associated with higher externalizing. Together, these results provide evidence that interactions between threats that are concentrated in youth's neighborhoods and attenuated executive network function may contribute to risk for externalizing problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metacognition among those reporting psychotic symptoms is associated with a distortion in the way they understand their own and others' mental states. Recent advances suggest that distortion in the form of self-criticism may activate a threat response and fuel symptom expression. At high level of self-criticism metacognition may reduce its protective role towards psychosis. Here, we explored whether the associations between impaired self-reflectivity and delusional ideation would decrease in the presence of self-criticism. A moderated regression model confirmed our hypothesis in a large sample of healthy young adults (N = 2065) even when controlled for sex, education, and family income. Our findings suggest how interventions aimed at reducing symptoms and promoting metacognition should always be interconnected with those targeting self-criticism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]