DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Doing More by Seeing Less: Gritty Applicants are Less Sensitive to Facial Threat Cues

  • Shin, Ji-eun (Department of Psychology, Chonnam National University) ;
  • Lee, Hyeonju (Psychological Solution Planning Part, MIDAS IT)
  • Received : 2021.09.04
  • Accepted : 2021.12.22
  • Published : 2022.03.31

Abstract

People differ greatly in their capacity to persist in the face of challenges. Despite significant research, relatively little is known about cognitive factors that might be involved in perseverance. Building upon human threat-management mechanism, we predicted that perseverant people would be characterized by reduced sensitivity (i.e., longer detection latency) to threat cues. Our data from 5,898 job applicants showed that highly perseverant individuals required more time to correctly identify anger in faces, regardless of stimulus type (dynamic or static computer-morphed faces). Such individual differences were not observed in response to other facial expressions (happiness, sadness), and the effect was independent of gender, dispositional anxiety, or conscientiousness. Discussions were centered on the potential role of threat sensitivity in effortful pursuit of goals.

Keywords

References

  1. Balcetis, E. (2016). Approach and avoidance as organizing structures for motivated distance perception. Emotion Review, 8(2), 115-128. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073915586225
  2. Bowman, N. A., Hill, P. L., Denson, N., & Bronkema, R. (2015). Keep on truckin' or stay the course? Exploring grit dimensions as differential predictors of educational achievement, satisfaction, and intentions. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 6(6), 639-645. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550615574300
  3. Crede, M., Tynan, M. C., & Harms, P. D. (2017). Much ado about grit: A meta-analytic synthesis of the grit literature. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 113(3), 492-511. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000102
  4. Disabato, D. J., Goodman, F. R., & Kashdan, T. B. (2019). Is grit relevant to well-being and strengths? Evidence across the globe for separating perseverance of effort and consistency of interests. Journal of Personality, 87(2), 194-211. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12382
  5. Duckworth, A. L., & Gross, J. J. (2014). Self-control and grit: Related but separable determinants of success. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(5), 319-325. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721414541462
  6. Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087-1101. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1087
  7. Duckworth, A. L., & Quinn, P. D. (2009). Development and validation of the Short Grit Scale (GRIT-S). Journal of Personality Assessment, 91(2), 166-174. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223890802634290
  8. Elfenbein, H. A., & Ambady, N. (2002). On the universality and cultural specificity of emotion recognition: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 128(2), 203-235. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.128.2.203
  9. Fox, E., Lester, V., Russo, R., Bowles, R. J., Pichler, A., & Dutton, K. (2000). Facial expressions of emotion: Are angry faces detected more efficiently? Cognition and Emotion, 14(1), 61-92. https://doi.org/10.1080/026999300378996
  10. Gil, S., Niedenthal, P. M., & Droit-Volet, S. (2007). Anger and time perception in children. Emotion, 7(1), 219-225. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.7.1.219
  11. Hampson, E., van Anders, S. M., & Mullin, L. I. (2006). A female advantage in the recognition of emotional facial expressions: Test of an evolutionary hypothesis. Evolution and Human Behavior, 27(6), 401-416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2006.05.002
  12. John, O. P., & Srivastava, S. (1999). The Big Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives. In L. A. Pervin & O. P. John (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 102-138). New York: Guilford Press.
  13. Kraus, M. W., Horberg, E. J., Goetz, J. L., & Keltner, D. (2011). Social class rank, threat vigilance, and hostile reactivity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(10), 1376-1388. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167211410987
  14. Lucas, G. M., Gratch, J., Cheng, L., & Marsella, S. (2015). When the going gets tough: Grit predicts costly perseverance. Journal of Research in Personality, 59, 15-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2015.08.004
  15. Mogg, K., Philippot, P., & Bradley, B. P. (2004). Selective attention to angry faces in clinical social phobia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 113(1), 160-165. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.113.1.160
  16. Myers, C. A., Wang, C., Black, J. M., Bugescu, N., & Hoeft, F. (2016). The matter of motivation: Striatal resting-state connectivity is dissociable between grit and growth mindset. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 11(10), 1521-1527. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsw065
  17. Neese, R. M., & Ellsworth, P. C. (2009). Evolution, emotions, and emotional disorders. American Psychologist, 64(2), 129-139. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013503
  18. Neuberg, S. L., Kenrick, D. T., & Schaller, M. (2011). Human threat management systems: Self-protection and disease avoidance. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 35(4), 1042-1051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.08.011
  19. Ohman, A., & Mineka, S. (2001). Fears, phobias, and preparedness: Toward an evolved module of fear and learning. Psychological Review, 108(3), 483-522. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.108.3.483
  20. Schmidt, L. J., Belopolsky, A. V., & Theeuwes, J. (2015). Attentional capture by signals of threat. Cognition and Emotion, 29(4), 687-694. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2014.924484
  21. Shackman, A. J., Stockbridge, M. D., Tillman, R. M., Kaplan, C. M., Tromp, D. P., Fox, A. S., & Gamer, M. (2016). The neurobiology of dispositional negativity and attentional biases to threat: Implications for understanding anxiety disorders in adults and youth. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 7(3), 311-342. https://doi.org/10.5127/jep.054015
  22. Smith, C. A., & Ellsworth, P. C. (1985). Patterns of cognitive appraisal in emotion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48(4), 813-838. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.48.4.813
  23. Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B., & Lowe, B. (2006). A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: The GAD-7. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166(10), 1092-1097. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092
  24. Tipples, J., Atkinson, A. P., & Young, A. W. (2002). The eyebrow frown: A salient social signal. Emotion, 2(3), 288-296. https://doi.org/10.1037//1528-3542.2.3.288
  25. Thompson, A. E., & Voyer, D. (2014). Sex differences in the ability to recognize non-verbal displays of emotion: A meta-analysis. Cognition and Emotion, 28(7), 1164-1195. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2013.875889
  26. Williams, L. A., & DeSteno, D. (2008). Pride and perseverance: The motivational role of pride. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94(6), 1007-1017. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.94.6.1007