Open AccessRecoiling From Threat: Anxiety Is Related to Heightened Suppression of Threat, Not Increased Attention to Threat
Author(s) -
Emily S. Kappenman,
Raphael Geddert,
Jaclyn L. Farrens,
John J. McDonald,
Greg Hajcak
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
clinical psychological science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.74
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 2167-7034
pISSN - 2167-7026
DOI - 10.1177/2167702620961074
Subject(s) - n2pc , attentional bias , anxiety , psychology , trait anxiety , selective attention , event related potential , visual attention , cognition , neuroscience , psychiatry
Increased attention to threat is considered a core feature of anxiety. However, there are multiple mechanisms of attention and multiple types of threat, and the relationships among attention, threat, and anxiety are poorly understood. The present study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to separately isolate attentional selection (N2pc) and suppression (P D ) of pictorial threats (photos of weapons, snakes, etc.) and conditioned threats (colored shapes paired with electric shock). In a sample of 48 young adults, both threat types were initially selected for increased attention (an N2pc), but only conditioned threats elicited subsequent suppression (a P D ) and a reaction time (RT) bias. Levels of trait anxiety were unrelated to N2pc amplitude, but increased anxiety was associated with larger P D s (i.e., greater suppression) and reduced RT bias to conditioned threats. These results suggest that anxious individuals do not pay more attention to threats, but rather engage more attentional suppression to overcome threats.