Perkins, Adam; Cooper, Andrew; Abdellal, Maura; Smillie, Luke D. and Corr, Philip. 2010. Personality and defensive reactions: fear, trait anxiety and threat magnification. Journal Of Personality, 78(3), pp. 1071-1090. [Article]

No full text available

Abstract or Description

The revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (rRST) of personality (Gray & McNaughton, 2000) maintains that trait individual differences in the operation of defensive systems relate to facets of human personality, most notably anxiety and fear. We investigated this theory in 2 separate studies (total N=270) using a threat scenario research strategy (Blanchard, Hynd, Minke, Minemoto, & Blanchard, 2001). Consistent with rRST, results showed that individuals with high fear questionnaire scores tended to select defensive responses entailing orientation away from threat (e.g., run away) and that fear-prone individuals also tended to perceive threats as magnified. The extent of this threat magnification mediated the positive association observed between fear and orientation away from threat. Overall, results suggest that interindividual variance in defensive reactions is associated with a variety of existing personality constructs but that further research is required to determine the precise relationship between personality and defensive reactions.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00643.x
Keywords:	revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory rRST threat personality defensive reactions
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Psychology
Dates:	Date Event 12 May 2010 Published
Item ID:	4355
Date Deposited:	17 Nov 2010 11:21
Last Modified:	30 Jun 2017 14:16
Peer Reviewed:	Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/4355

Edit Record (login required)