Human Reaction to Threat: Examining the Interplay Between Personality Dispositions and Situational Features

Abstract

Objective: Research on human reaction to threats has been limited and focused either on the effects of situational features or on the effects of personality dispositions. In the present research, we examined the processes by which personality (specifically attachment orientations) qualifies the effects of situational features on reactions to threat scenarios. Method: In Study 1, 307 Israeli participants completed a self-report measure of attachment orientations (anxiety and avoidance), and reported on the first action that they are likely to take on various threat scenarios. In Study 2, 295 non-Israeli participants completed self-report measures of attachment orientations (anxiety and avoidance), fear of negative evaluation, and body sensations (the latter two served as covariates), and reported on their reactions to threat scenarios as in Study 1. Results: Results indicated that attachment anxiety qualified the effects of situational features to increase the likelihood of sentinel (e.g., yelling) and fear-related behaviors (e.g., running away). Avoidance qualified the effects of situational features to increase the likelihood of rapid-responder (e.g., attacking), fear-related, and anxiety-related (e.g., risk assessment) reactions. Conclusions: Results are discussed in relation to the complex interplay between personality and situational features on humans' behaviors when dealing with threats and danger.

The Moderating Role of Attachment in the Associations Between Group Variables and OCB

“…According to SDT, anxious individuals possess unique adaptive advantages to promote group effectiveness in appropriate situational circumstances. For example, people with high attachment anxiety are better at detecting if an individual is lying (Ein-Dor & Perry-Paldi, 2014). They can, therefore, be on guard and serve a protective group function (Ein-Dor & Hirschberger, 2016) and may moderate other group dynamic processes at the workplace.…”