Synonyms
Definition
Threat sensitivity refers to affective, cognitive, behavioral, and physiological responses toward threatening (likely to cause damage or danger) stimuli, information, or cues. Threat may be actual, perceived, or potential. Metrics of threat sensitivity capture the degree to which an individual shows heightened arousal and preparedness before, during, or following interactions with the aversive stimulus. Although humans rely on the ability to detect, attend to, and respond to threat (fight/flight) for survival, exaggerated threat sensitivity can be maladaptive. For example, sustained threat sensitivity is thought to contribute to clinical anxiety- and stressor-related disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
Introduction
Jeffrey Gray, a British psychologist and personality theorist, proposed two distinct neurological systems that regulate an individual’s sensitivity to either aversive...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Barros-Loscertales, A., Meseguer, V., Sanjuan, A., Belloch, V., Parcet, M. A., Torrubia, R., & Avila, C. (2006). Behavioral inhibition system activity is associated with increased amygdala and hippocampal gray matter volume: A voxel-based morphometry study. NeuroImage, 33(3), 1011–1015.
Browning, M., Holmes, E. A., & Harmer, C. J. (2010). The modification of attentional bias to emotional information: A review of the techniques, mechanisms, and relevance to emotional disorders. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 10(1), 8–20.
Carver, C. S., & White, T. L. (1994). Behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, and affective responses to impending reward and punishment: The BIS/BAS Scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(2), 319.
Dennis, T. A., & Chen, C. C. (2007). Neurophysiological mechanisms in the emotional modulation of attention: The interplay between threat sensitivity and attentional control. Biological Psychology, 76(1), 1–10.
Dennis, T. A., O’Toole, L. J. (2014). Mental health on the go effects of a gamified attention-bias modification mobile application in trait-anxious adults. Clinical Psychological Science, 2(5), 576–590.
Eldar, S., & Bar-Haim, Y. (2010). Neural plasticity in response to attention training in anxiety. Psychological Medicine, 40(04), 667–677.
Eysenck, M. W., & Calvo, M. G. (1992). Anxiety and performance: The processing efficiency theory. Cognition & Emotion, 6(6), 409–434.
Gray, J. A. (1978). The neuropsychology of anxiety. British Journal of Psychology, 69(4), 417–434.
Mathews, A., & MacLeod, C. (2002). Induced processing biases have causal effects on anxiety. Cognition & Emotion, 16(3), 331–354.
Roy, A. K., Dennis, T. A., & Warner, C. M. (2015). A critical review of attentional threat bias and its role in the treatment of pediatric anxiety disorders. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 29(3), 171–184.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Denefrio, S., Dennis-Tiwary, T.A. (2018). Threat Sensitivity. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_869-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_869-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences