In this paper we experimentally study performance of men and women under competition, with implicitly and explicitly induced stereotype threats to both sexes. We use a mathematical task that is perceived as male-dominant and creates an implicit stereotype threat against woman. We also study conditions in which we explicitly reinforce or contradict the implicit stereotype threat by providing app...

The amygdala is thought to be part of a neural system responsive to potential threat (1). Consistent with this is the amygdala’s well-documented sensitivity to fear faces. What is puzzling, however, is the paucity of evidence for a similar involvement of the amygdala in the processing of anger displays. To address this apparent anomaly, researchers have speculated that the amygdala is involved ...

This study investigates whether threat-related words are especially likely to be perceived in unattended locations of the visual field. Threat-related, positive, and neutral words were presented at fixation as probes in a lexical decision task. The probe word was preceded by 2 simultaneous prime words (1 foveal, i.e., at fixation; 1 parafoveal, i.e., 2.2 deg. of visual angle from fixation), whi...

Three studies demonstrated that collective identity and identity threat shape representations of the physical world. In Study 1, New York Yankees fans estimated Fenway Park, the stadium of a threatening out-group (but not Camden Yards, the stadium of a neutral out-group) to be closer than did non-Yankees fans. In Study 2, the authors manipulated identity threat among people affiliated (or not) ...

This study uses integrated threat theory to examine Dutch adolescents' (N=1,187) prejudice towards Muslim minorities. One out of two participants was found to have negative feelings towards Muslims. Perceived symbolic and realistic threat and negative stereotypes were examined as mediators between antecedent factors (in-group identification, intergroup contact, and the endorsement of multicultu...

We present an evidence-based model of pathological worry in which worry arises from an interaction between involuntary (bottom-up) processes, such as habitual biases in attention and interpretation favouring threat content, and voluntary (top-down) processes, such as attentional control. At a pre-conscious level, these processes influence the competition between mental representations when some...

Some prior research indicated that self-image threat may lead people to stereotyping and prejudiced evaluations of others. Other studies found that self-image threat may promote less stereotypical thinking and unprejudiced behavior. In a series of three studies, we demonstrate that self-image threat may lead to either more or less stereotypical perception of the outgroup depending on the level ...

Two studies examined the threatened masculinity theory of male body dissatisfaction, which posits that threats to masculinity result in increased muscle dissatisfaction. In Study 1, a masculinity threat was followed by tasks examining confidence in physical ability and perceptions of current and ideal body shapes. Results showed that men who experienced a masculinity threat reported lower confi...