TY - JOUR
T1 - Updating beliefs under perceived threat
AU - Garrett, Neil
AU - González-Garzón, Ana María
AU - Foulkes, Lucy
AU - Levita, Liat
AU - Sharot, Tali
PY - 2018/9/5
Y1 - 2018/9/5
N2 - Humans are better at integrating desirable information into their beliefs than undesirable information. This asymmetry poses an evolutionary puzzle, as it can lead to an underestimation of risk and thus failure to take precautionary action. Here, we suggest a mechanism that can speak to this conundrum. In particular, we show that the bias vanishes in response to perceived threat in the environment. We report that an improve- ment in participants’ tendency to incorporate bad news into their beliefs is associated with physiological arousal in response to threat indexed by galvanic skin response and self-reported anxiety. This pattern of results was observed in a controlled laboratory setting (Experiment I), where perceived threat was manipulated, and in firefighters on duty (Experiment II), where it naturally varied. Such flexibility in how individuals integrate information may enhance the likelihood of responding to warnings with caution in environments rife with threat, while maintaining a positivity bias otherwise, a strategy that can increase well-being.
AB - Humans are better at integrating desirable information into their beliefs than undesirable information. This asymmetry poses an evolutionary puzzle, as it can lead to an underestimation of risk and thus failure to take precautionary action. Here, we suggest a mechanism that can speak to this conundrum. In particular, we show that the bias vanishes in response to perceived threat in the environment. We report that an improve- ment in participants’ tendency to incorporate bad news into their beliefs is associated with physiological arousal in response to threat indexed by galvanic skin response and self-reported anxiety. This pattern of results was observed in a controlled laboratory setting (Experiment I), where perceived threat was manipulated, and in firefighters on duty (Experiment II), where it naturally varied. Such flexibility in how individuals integrate information may enhance the likelihood of responding to warnings with caution in environments rife with threat, while maintaining a positivity bias otherwise, a strategy that can increase well-being.
UR - http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/30082420
U2 - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0716-18.2018
DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0716-18.2018
M3 - Article
C2 - 30082420
SN - 0270-6474
VL - 38
SP - 7901
EP - 7911
JO - The Journal of Neuroscience
JF - The Journal of Neuroscience
IS - 36
ER -