Updating beliefs under perceived threat
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 conundr...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Society for Neuroscience
2018
|
| _version_ | 1797056568115593216 |
|---|---|
| author | Garrett, N González-Garzón, A Foulkes, L Levita, L Sharot, T |
| author_facet | Garrett, N González-Garzón, A Foulkes, L Levita, L Sharot, T |
| author_sort | Garrett, N |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | 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 improvement 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T19:24:29Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:1b3eab7c-bf17-4864-8811-66caf55110dd |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T19:24:29Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Society for Neuroscience |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:1b3eab7c-bf17-4864-8811-66caf55110dd2022-03-26T10:59:17ZUpdating beliefs under perceived threatJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:1b3eab7c-bf17-4864-8811-66caf55110ddEnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordSociety for Neuroscience2018Garrett, NGonzález-Garzón, AFoulkes, LLevita, LSharot, THumans 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 improvement 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. |
| spellingShingle | Garrett, N González-Garzón, A Foulkes, L Levita, L Sharot, T Updating beliefs under perceived threat |
| title | Updating beliefs under perceived threat |
| title_full | Updating beliefs under perceived threat |
| title_fullStr | Updating beliefs under perceived threat |
| title_full_unstemmed | Updating beliefs under perceived threat |
| title_short | Updating beliefs under perceived threat |
| title_sort | updating beliefs under perceived threat |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT garrettn updatingbeliefsunderperceivedthreat AT gonzalezgarzona updatingbeliefsunderperceivedthreat AT foulkesl updatingbeliefsunderperceivedthreat AT levital updatingbeliefsunderperceivedthreat AT sharott updatingbeliefsunderperceivedthreat |