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Wessler J, van der Schalk J, Hansen J, Klackl J, Jonas E, Fons M, Doosje B, Fischer A. Existential threat and responses to emotional displays of ingroup and outgroup members. GROUP PROCESSES & INTERGROUP RELATIONS 2023; 26:1866-1887. [PMID: 38021316 PMCID: PMC10665133 DOI: 10.1177/13684302221128229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2019] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
The present research investigates how emotional displays shape reactions to ingroup and outgroup members when people are reminded of death. We hypothesized that under mortality salience, emotions that signal social distance promote worldview defense (i.e., increased ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation), whereas emotions that signal affiliation promote affiliation need (i.e., reduced ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation). In three studies, participants viewed emotional displays of ingroup and/or outgroup members after a mortality salience or control manipulation. Results revealed that under mortality salience, anger increased ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation (Study 1), enhanced perceived overlap with the ingroup (Study 3), and increased positive facial behavior to ingroup displays-measured via the Facial Action Coding System (Studies 1 and 2) and electromyography of the zygomaticus major muscle (Study 3). In contrast, happiness decreased ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation (Study 2), and increased positive facial behavior towards outgroup members (Study 3). The findings suggest that, in times of threat, emotional displays can determine whether people move away from unfamiliar others or try to form as many friendly relations as possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janet Wessler
- German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, Germany
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2
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Benjamin R, Heine SJ. From Freud to Android: Constructing a Scale of Uncanny Feelings. J Pers Assess 2023; 105:121-133. [PMID: 35353019 DOI: 10.1080/00223891.2022.2048842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The uncanny valley is a topic for engineers, animators, and psychologists, yet uncanny emotions are without a clear definition. Across three studies, we developed an 8-item measure of unnerved feelings, finding that it was discriminable from other affective experiences. In Study 1, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis that yielded two factors; an unnerved factor, which connects to emotional reactions to the uncanny, and a disoriented factor, which connects to mental state changes more distally following uncanny experiences. Focusing on the unnerved measure, Study 2 tests the scale's convergent and discriminant validity, concluding that participants who watched an uncanny video were more unnerved than those who watched a disgusting, fearful, or a neutral video. In Study 3, we determined that our scale detects unnerved feelings created during early 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic; a distinct source of uncanniness. These studies contribute to the psychological and interdisciplinary understanding of this strange, eerie phenomenon of being confronted with what looms just beyond our understanding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachele Benjamin
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Steven J Heine
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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Fabian M, Breunig R, De Neve J. Worldview defence and self‐determination theory explain the return of racial voting: Evidence from the 2016 US election. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.2894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mark Fabian
- Institute for Social Change, University of Tasmania Tasmania Australia
| | - Robert Breunig
- Tax and Transfer Policy Institute Crawford School of Public Policy The Australian National University Canberra Australia
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Ku X, Hyun S, Lee B. The role of death anxiety on marksmanship performance: a virtual reality simulator study. ERGONOMICS 2022; 65:219-232. [PMID: 34348582 DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2021.1965222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Despite the well-established relationship between state anxiety and marksmanship performance, few efforts have examined the individual differences that affect the extent to which individuals experience state anxiety in combat situations. Thus, further studies are needed to increase the probability of mission accomplishment, which could ultimately serve to safely bring soldiers home. The present study examined how death anxiety, a trait-based difference affects state anxiety, which in turn affects shooting performance on a battlefield. In particular, we used a virtual reality simulator to create a realistic engagement setting in which simulated death anxiety is salient. On a sample of 99 active-duty enlisted men in the Republic of Korea Army, we found that death anxiety, and not trait anxiety, increased state anxiety, which in turn decreased marksmanship performance. Overall, the current findings highlight the role of death anxiety in combat situations. The practical implications and avenues for future research are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xyle Ku
- Department of Psychology, Korea Military Academy, Seoul, Korea
| | - Seungju Hyun
- Department of Psychology, Korea Military Academy, Seoul, Korea
| | - Byounghwak Lee
- Department of Physics & Chemistry, Korea Military Academy, Seoul, Korea
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5
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Political Orientation as Psychological Defense or Basic Disposition? A Social Neuroscience Examination. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 22:586-599. [PMID: 34766245 PMCID: PMC9090880 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-021-00965-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Psychological views on political orientation generally agree that conservatism is associated with negativity bias but disagree on the form of that association. Some view conservatism as a psychological defense that insulates from negative stimuli and events. Others view conservatism as a consequence of increased dispositional sensitivity to negative stimuli and events. Further complicating matters, research shows that conservatives are sometimes more and sometimes less sensitive to negative stimuli and events. The current research integrates these opposing views and results. We reasoned that conservatives should typically be less sensitive to negative stimuli if conservative beliefs act as a psychological defense. However, when core components of conservative beliefs are threatened, the psychological defense may fall, and conservatives may show heightened sensitivity to negative stimuli. In two ERP studies, participants were randomly assigned to either an ostensibly real economic threat or a nonthreatening control condition. To measure reactivity to negative stimuli, we indexed the P3 component to aversive white noise bursts in an auditory oddball paradigm. In both studies, the relationship between increased conservatism and P3 mean amplitude was negative in the control condition but positive in threat condition (this relationship was stronger in Study 2). In Study 2, source localization of the P3 component revealed that, after threat, conservatism was associated with increased activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, regions associated with conflict-related processes. These results demonstrate that the link between conservatism and negativity bias is context-dependent, i.e., dependent on threat experiences.
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Epstein RM. Facing epistemic and complex uncertainty in serious illness: The role of mindfulness and shared mind. PATIENT EDUCATION AND COUNSELING 2021; 104:2635-2642. [PMID: 34334265 DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2021.07.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Epistemic uncertainty refers to situations in which available evidence is insufficient or unreliable, often accompanied by complexity due to novel contexts, multifactorial causation, and emerging options (the "unknowable unknown"). It stands in contrast to aleatory uncertainty where probabilities are known, and potential benefits and harms can be calculated and presented graphically (the "knowable unknown"). DISCUSSION Epistemic uncertainty is common, and encompasses uncertainty about the nature of the illness, whom to entrust with one's care, and one's ability to adapt and cope. Communication about the "unknowable unknown" occurs infrequently and ineffectively, and there is little research on improving communication in the face of epistemic and complex uncertainty. Terror Management Theory (TMT) predicts that in encountering serious illness, people engage in "worldview defense" - suppressing death-related thoughts, affiliating with like-minded others, and developing cognitive rigidity and intolerance of information that challenges their worldview. Mindfulness is associated with diminished defensive worldview reactions and cognitive rigidity, and greater tolerance of ambiguity. Shared mind encompasses shared understanding and affective attunement. CONCLUSION For clinicians and seriously ill patients facing epistemic uncertainty, psychologically-informed interventions that promote mindfulness and shared mind offer promise in promoting open discussions regarding prognostic uncertainty, advance care planning, and treatment decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald M Epstein
- Center for Communication and Disparities Research, Department of Family Medicine, and Wilmot Cancer Institute, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.
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7
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Evolution of Clustering Quantified by a Stochastic Method—Case Studies on Natural and Human Social Structures. SUSTAINABILITY 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/su12197972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Clustering structures appearing from small to large scales are ubiquitous in the physical world. Interestingly, clustering structures are omnipresent in human history too, ranging from the mere organization of life in societies (e.g., urbanization) to the development of large-scale infrastructure and policies for meeting organizational needs. Indeed, in its struggle for survival and progress, mankind has perpetually sought the benefits of unions. At the same time, it is acknowledged that as the scale of the projects grows, the cost of the delivered products is reduced while their quantities are maximized. Thus, large-scale infrastructures and policies are considered advantageous and are constantly being pursued at even great scales. This work develops a general method to quantify the temporal evolution of clustering, using a stochastic computational tool called 2D-C, which is applicable for the study of both natural and human social spatial structures. As case studies, the evolution of the structure of the universe, of ecosystems and of human clustering structures such as urbanization, are investigated using novel sources of spatial information. Results suggest the clear existence both of periods of clustering and declustering in the natural world and in the human social structures; yet clustering is the general trend. In view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, societal challenges arising from large-scale clustering structures are discussed.
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Abstract
This article presents a discussion of neurocognitive hacking and its potential for use at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of cyber conflict. Neurocognitive hacking refers to the ability to activate specific neural areas of the brain, via subliminal or supraliminal stimuli, to shape the behavioral outcomes of an adversary. Research suggests that awareness of mortality-related stimuli has neural correlates in the right amygdala and left anterior cingulate cortex and mediates negative behavior toward out-group members, including unconscious discriminatory behavior. Given its in-group/out-group dynamic, the phenomenon could be exploited for use in information operations toward target populations, specifically ones that are multiethnic, multicultural, or multireligious. Although development of the theoretical framework behind neurocognitive hacking is ongoing, mortality-related stimuli are proposed to activate one's unconscious vigilance system to further evaluate the locus and viability of the suspect stimuli. Research suggests that the subsequent discriminatory affective reactions directed toward out-group members are representative of automatic heuristics evolved to protect the organism in the event a stimulus represents a more serious threat to survival. Therefore, presenting mortality-related stimuli over computer networks to targeted audiences may facilitate the ingestion of tailored propaganda or shaping of specific behavioral outcomes within a population, including sowing division in a target community or weakening support for a specific political regime.
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Klackl J, Jonas E. Effects of Mortality Salience on Physiological Arousal. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1893. [PMID: 31481914 PMCID: PMC6710453 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Accepted: 07/31/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Making the inevitability of mortality salient makes people more defensive about their self-esteem and worldviews. Theoretical arguments and empirical evidence point to a mediating role of arousal in this defensive process, but evidence from physiological measurement studies is scarce and inconclusive. The present study seeks to draw a comprehensive picture of how physiological arousal develops over time in the mortality salience (MS) paradigm, and whether contemplating one's mortality actually elicits more physiological arousal than reflecting on a death-unrelated aversive control topic. In a between-subjects design, participants were asked two open questions about their mortality or about dental pain. Cardiac, respiratory, and electrodermal indicators of arousal were measured both as participants provided written answers to the questions, and during a series of resting intervals surrounding the questions. A Bayes factor analysis indicated support for the hypothesis that the MS paradigm increases physiological arousal, both while answering the two open-ended questions and afterward. Regarding the MS versus dental pain comparison, the null hypothesis of no difference was supported for most analysis segments and signals. The results indicate that the arousal elicited by MS is not different from that elicited by dental pain salience. This speaks against the idea that worldview defense following MS occurs because MS produces higher physiological arousal. Of course, this finding does not rule the importance of other forms of arousal (i.e., subjective arousal) for MS effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Klackl
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Eva Jonas
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
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Affiliation(s)
- Travis Proulx
- School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales
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11
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Randles D, Benjamin R, Martens JP, Heine SJ. Searching for answers in an uncertain world: Meaning threats lead to increased working memory capacity. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0204640. [PMID: 30281622 PMCID: PMC6169904 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2017] [Accepted: 09/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The Meaning Maintenance Model posits that individuals seek to resolve uncertainty by searching for patterns in the environment, yet little is known about how this is accomplished. Four studies investigated whether uncertainty has an effect on people's cognitive functioning. In particular, we investigated whether meaning threats lead to increased working memory capacity. In each study, we exposed participants to either an uncertain stimulus used to threaten meaning in past studies, or a control stimulus. Participants then completed a working memory measure, where they either had to recall lists of words (Studies 1, 2), or strings of digits (Studies 3, 4). We used both a frequentist approach and Bayesian analysis to evaluate our findings. Across the four studies, we find a small but consistent effect, where participants in the meaning threat condition show improved performance on the working memory tasks. Overall, our findings were consistent with the hypothesis that working memory capacity increases when people experience a meaning threat, which may help to explain improved pattern recognition. Additionally, our results highlight the value of using a Bayesian analytic approach, particularly when studying phenomena with high variance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Randles
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Rachele Benjamin
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Jason P. Martens
- School of Social Sciences, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, England
| | - Steven J. Heine
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Holbrook C, Gordon CL, Iacoboni M. Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses. J Vis Exp 2018. [PMID: 30320754 PMCID: PMC6235344 DOI: 10.3791/58204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Decades of behavioral science research have documented functional shifts in attitudes and ideological adherence in response to various challenges, but little work to date has illuminated the neural mechanisms underlying these dynamics. This paper describes how continuous theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation may be employed to experimentally assess the causal contribution of cortical regions to threat-related ideological shifts. In the example protocol provided here, participants are exposed to a threat prime-an explicit reminder of their own inevitable death and bodily decomposition-following a downregulation of the posterior medial frontal cortex (pMFC) or a sham stimulation. Next, disguised within a series of distracter tasks, participants' relative degree of ideological adherence is assessed-in the present example, with regard to coalitional prejudice and religious belief. Participants for whom the pMFC has been downregulated exhibit less coalitionally biased responses to an immigrant critical of the participants' national in-group, and less conviction in positive afterlife beliefs (i.e., God, angels, and heaven), despite having recently been reminded of death. These results complement prior findings that continuous theta burst stimulation of the pMFC influences social conformity and sharing and illustrate the feasibility of investigating the neural basis of high-level social cognitive shifts using transcranial magnetic stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colin Holbrook
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced;
| | - Chelsea L Gordon
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced
| | - Marco Iacoboni
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles
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Terashima Y, Takai J. Interpersonal Duty as a Tool for Managing Uncertainty: Uncertainty Threat Changes Negative Affect Reaction Toward Duty Adherence/Violation. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-017-9660-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Buttlar B, Latz M, Walther E. Breaking Bad: Existential Threat Decreases Pro-Environmental Behavior. BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/01973533.2017.1296360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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15
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Agroskin D, Jonas E, Klackl J, Prentice M. Inhibition Underlies the Effect of High Need for Closure on Cultural Closed-Mindedness under Mortality Salience. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1583. [PMID: 27826261 PMCID: PMC5078785 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2016] [Accepted: 09/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The hypothesis that people respond to reminders of mortality with closed-minded, ethnocentric attitudes has received extensive empirical support, largely from research in the Terror Management Theory (TMT) tradition. However, the basic motivational and neural processes that underlie this effect remain largely hypothetical. According to recent neuropsychological theorizing, mortality salience (MS) effects on cultural closed-mindedness may be mediated by activity in the behavioral inhibition system (BIS), which leads to passive avoidance and decreased approach motivation. This should be especially true for people motivated to avoid unfamiliar and potentially threatening stimuli as reflected in a high need for closure (NFC). In two studies involving moderated mediation analyses, people high on trait NFC responded to MS with increased BIS activity (as indicated by EEG and the line bisection task), which is characteristic of inhibited approach motivation. BIS activity, in turn, predicted a reluctance to explore foreign cultures (Study 1) and generalized ethnocentric attitudes (Study 2). In a third study, inhibition was induced directly and caused an increase in ethnocentrism for people high on NFC. Moreover, the effect of the inhibition manipulation × NFC interaction on ethnocentrism was explained by increases in BIS-related affect (i.e., anxious inhibition) at high NFC. To our knowledge, this research is the first to establish an empirical link between very basic, neurally-instantiated inhibitory processes and rather complex, higher-order manifestations of intergroup negativity in response to MS. Our findings contribute to a fuller understanding of the cultural worldview defense phenomenon by illuminating the motivational underpinnings of cultural closed-mindedness in the wake of existential threat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitrij Agroskin
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg Salzburg, Austria
| | - Eva Jonas
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg Salzburg, Austria
| | - Johannes Klackl
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg Salzburg, Austria
| | - Mike Prentice
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg Salzburg, Austria
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Holbrook C. Branches of a twisting tree: Domain-specific threat psychologies derive from shared mechanisms. Curr Opin Psychol 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Holbrook C, Izuma K, Deblieck C, Fessler DMT, Iacoboni M. Neuromodulation of group prejudice and religious belief. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2015; 11:387-94. [PMID: 26341901 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsv107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2014] [Accepted: 08/31/2015] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
People cleave to ideological convictions with greater intensity in the aftermath of threat. The posterior medial frontal cortex (pMFC) plays a key role in both detecting discrepancies between desired and current conditions and adjusting subsequent behavior to resolve such conflicts. Building on prior literature examining the role of the pMFC in shifts in relatively low-level decision processes, we demonstrate that the pMFC mediates adjustments in adherence to political and religious ideologies. We presented participants with a reminder of death and a critique of their in-group ostensibly written by a member of an out-group, then experimentally decreased both avowed belief in God and out-group derogation by downregulating pMFC activity via transcranial magnetic stimulation. The results provide the first evidence that group prejudice and religious belief are susceptible to targeted neuromodulation, and point to a shared cognitive mechanism underlying concrete and abstract decision processes. We discuss the implications of these findings for further research characterizing the cognitive and affective mechanisms at play.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colin Holbrook
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA,
| | - Keise Izuma
- Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Choi Deblieck
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA and
| | - Daniel M T Fessler
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Marco Iacoboni
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
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Wisman A, Shrira I. The smell of death: evidence that putrescine elicits threat management mechanisms. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1274. [PMID: 26379597 PMCID: PMC4551835 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2015] [Accepted: 08/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to detect and respond to chemosensory threat cues in the environment plays a vital role in survival across species. However, little is known about which chemical compounds can act as olfactory threat signals in humans. We hypothesized that brief exposure to putrescine, a chemical compound produced by the breakdown of fatty acids in the decaying tissue of dead bodies, can function as a chemosensory warning signal, activating threat management responses (e.g., heightened alertness, fight-or-flight responses). This hypothesis was tested by gaging people's responses to conscious and non-conscious exposure to putrescine. In Experiment 1, putrescine increased vigilance, as measured by a reaction time task. In Experiments 2 and 3, brief exposure to putrescine (vs. ammonia and a scentless control condition) prompted participants to walk away faster from the exposure site. Experiment 3 also showed that putrescine elicited implicit cognitions related to escape and threat. Experiment 4 found that exposure to putrescine, presented here below the threshold of conscious awareness, increased hostility toward an out-group member. Together, the results are the first to indicate that humans can process putrescine as a warning signal that mobilizes protective responses to deal with relevant threats. The implications of these results are briefly discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Wisman
- School of Psychology, University of Kent , Canterbury, UK
| | - Ilan Shrira
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, Arkansas Tech University , Russellville, AR, USA
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Abstract
According to theories of "psychological defense," humans are motivated to protect themselves against various types of psychological threat, including death awareness, uncertainty, and other inherently anxiety-provoking experiences. Protective mechanisms include strengthening close relationships; maintaining appraisals of self-worth, accomplishment, and agency; and cultivating meaningful views of the world. Thus, defensiveness theories incorporate research from many areas of psychology (e.g., information-processing biases, attitudes, and interpersonal and intergroup relations), to help explain why people think, feel, and act in the diverse ways that they do. Currently, the study of psychological defense is hindered by contradictory empirical results and a proliferation of theories that make very similar predictions. This article examines a cross-section of defensiveness theories and research, highlighting conclusions that can be drawn and areas where conceptual and research problems linger. It suggests that the field needs methodological innovation (e.g., more reliable and valid manipulations and measures of unconscious constructs, more diverse methodological approaches), a more complete and reliable body of data, and some fresh new ideas from psychological scientists across disciplines.
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Wisman A, Heflick NA. Hopelessly mortal: The role of mortality salience, immortality and trait self-esteem in personal hope. Cogn Emot 2015; 30:868-89. [DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2015.1031643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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21
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Martin LL, van den Bos K. Beyond terror: Towards a paradigm shift in the study of threat and culture. EUROPEAN REVIEW OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2014. [DOI: 10.1080/10463283.2014.923144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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22
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Quirin M, Bode RC, Luckey U, Pyszczynski T, Kuhl J. Profound Versus Superficial Coping With Mortality Threats: Action Orientation Moderates Implicit but Not Explicit Outgroup Prejudice. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2014; 40:1132-1147. [PMID: 24876178 DOI: 10.1177/0146167214536928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Mortality salience (MS) strengthens cultural values but individuals might differ in whether this process operates at a superficial, explicit level only or also at a profound, implicit level. Two studies investigated whether explicit and implicit attitudes toward Muslims after an MS induction vary as a function of threat-related action orientation (AOT), an efficient form of self-regulation of emotion and behavior that draws on the activation of the implicit, integrated self. In Study 1, there was a main effect of MS on explicit prejudice but only participants with high levels of AOT showed reduced implicit prejudice following MS. In Study 2, this interaction effect was replicated using an alternative implicit measure of prejudice. Defense in response to MS might thus not be a uniform phenomenon but might be composed of processes operating on different (i.e., profound vs. superficial) levels that vary with types of self-regulation such as high versus low AOT.
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Jonas E, McGregor I, Klackl J, Agroskin D, Fritsche I, Holbrook C, Nash K, Proulx T, Quirin M. Threat and Defense. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-800052-6.00004-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 182] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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24
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The neural basis of social influence and attitude change. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2013; 23:456-62. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2013.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2012] [Revised: 03/25/2013] [Accepted: 03/26/2013] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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25
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Echebarria-Echabe A. Mortality salience and uncertainty: Similar effects but different processes? EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.1938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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Tritt SM, Inzlicht M, Harmon-Jones E. Toward a Biological Understanding of Mortality Salience (And Other Threat Compensation Processes). SOCIAL COGNITION 2012. [DOI: 10.1521/soco.2012.30.6.715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
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Proulx T, Inzlicht M, Harmon-Jones E. Understanding all inconsistency compensation as a palliative response to violated expectations. Trends Cogn Sci 2012; 16:285-91. [PMID: 22516239 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2012.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 162] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2011] [Revised: 03/31/2012] [Accepted: 04/03/2012] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
It has been repeatedly shown that, when people have experiences that are inconsistent with their expectations, they engage in a variety of compensatory efforts. Although there have been many superficially different accounts for these behaviors, a potentially unifying inconsistency compensation perspective is currently coalescing. Following from a common prediction error/conflict monitoring mechanism, any given inconsistency is understood as evoking a common syndrome of aversive arousal. In turn, this aversive arousal is understood to motivate palliative efforts, which manifest as the analogous compensation behaviors reported within different psychological literatures. Based on this perspective, compensation efforts following both 'high-level' (e.g., attitudinal dissonance) and 'low-level' (e.g., Stroop task color/word mismatches) inconsistencies can now be understood in terms of a common motivational account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Travis Proulx
- Department of Social Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg 3037 AB, The Netherlands.
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