Threat Interpretation Research Articles

Experimental modification of interpretation bias regarding social and animal fear in children

Using an experimental bias modification task, an interpretation bias towards or away from threat was induced about animal or social situations in a sample of 103 children split into a young (7–10 years) and old age group (11–15 years). Children rapidly learned to select outcomes of ambiguous situations which were congruent with their assigned modification condition. Following positive modification, children's threat interpretation biases significantly decreased, while threat biases increased (non-significantly) after negative modification. Bias modification effects also varied as a function of age with children appearing particularly vulnerable to acquiring biases about stimuli that were congruent with the normative fears for their age group. Weak age-related modification-congruent effects on younger but not older children's anxiety vulnerability in response to a behavioral task were also observed. However, no consistent effects of bias modification on avoidance behavior were found.

Security as translation: threats, discourse, and the politics of localisation

AbstractThis article aims at enhancing our understanding of how collective interpretations of threats, stabilised and temporarily fixed in names, travel across different local discourse communities. I contend that globally accepted names result from gradual cross-cultural processes of localisation. Specifically, I argue that the discursive dynamics of elusiveness, compatibility and adaptation suggest a framework of analysis for how collective interpretations or names travel.

Gender differences in animal models of posttraumatic stress disorder.

Epidemiological studies report higher prevalence rates of stress-related disorders such as acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women than in men following exposure to trauma. It is still not clear whether this greater prevalence in woman reflects a greater vulnerability to stress-related psychopathology. A number of individual and trauma-related characteristics have been hypothesized to contribute to these gender differences in physiological and psychological responses to trauma, differences in appraisal, interpretation or experience of threat, coping style or social support. In this context, the use of an animal model for PTSD to analyze some of these gender-related differences may be of particular utility. Animal models of PTSD offer the opportunity to distinguish between biological and socio-cultural factors, which so often enter the discussion about gender differences in PTSD prevalence.In this review, we present and discuss sex-differences in behavioral, neurochemical, neurobiological and pharmacological findings that we have collected from several different animal studies related to both basal conditions and stress responses. These models have used different paradigms and have elicited a range of behavioral and physiological manifestations associated with gender. The overall data presented demonstrate that male animals are significantly more vulnerable to acute and chronic stress, whereas females are far more resilient. The stark contradiction between these findings and contemporary epidemiological data regarding human subjects is worthy of further study. The examination of these gender-related differences can deepen our understanding of the risk or the pathophysiology of stress-related disorders.

Gender Differences in Animal Models of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Epidemiological studies report higher prevalence rates of stress-related disorders such as acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women than in men following exposure to trauma. It is still not clear whether this greater prevalence in woman reflects a greater vulnerability to stress-related psychopathology. A number of individual and trauma-related characteristics have been hypothesized to contribute to these gender differences in physiological and psychological responses to trauma, differences in appraisal, interpretation or experience of threat, coping style or social support. In this context, the use of an animal model for PTSD to analyze some of these gender-related differences may be of particular utility. Animal models of PTSD offer the opportunity to distinguish between biological and socio-cultural factors, which so often enter the discussion about gender differences in PTSD prevalence.In this review, we present and discuss sex-differences in behavioral, neurochemical, neurobiological and pharmacological findings that we have collected from several different animal studies related to both basal conditions and stress responses. These models have used different paradigms and have elicited a range of behavioral and physiological manifestations associated with gender. The overall data presented demonstrate that male animals are significantly more vulnerable to acute and chronic stress, whereas females are far more resilient. The stark contradiction between these findings and contemporary epidemiological data regarding human subjects is worthy of further study. The examination of these gender-related differences can deepen our understanding of the risk or the pathophysiology of stress-related disorders.

The Disgust Threat Interpretation Bias is Not Moderated by Anxiety & Disgust Sensitivity

The present study used the homophone spelling task to investigate whether induced disgust facilitates an interpretational bias. In addition, it considered whether factors related to anxiety and disgust moderate this disgust-generated threat-interpretation bias. Participants were assigned to one of three groups in which they experienced a neutral, anxiety, or disgust mood induction. Participants subsequently completed the homophone spelling task. Results indicated that participants who experienced induced anxiety or disgust interpreted significantly more neutral/threatening homophones in a threatening way, relative to participants who experienced a neutral mood induction. This supports the proposal that experienced disgust generates a threat interpretation bias and implicates disgust as a causal factor involved in anxious psychopathology. Subsequent analyses also indicated that measures of anxiety sensitivity, generalized anxiety, and disgust sensitivity and propensity did not moderate the disgust generated interpretation bias. Suggestions as to why this may have occurred are discussed, along with proposals for future research into the possible role of disgust in anxious psychopathology.

Multidisciplinary Analysis of an Unusual Tornado: Meteorology, Climatology, and the Communication and Interpretation of Warnings*

Abstract On 22 May 2008, a strong tornado—rated EF3 on the enhanced Fujita scale, with winds estimated between 136 and 165 mi h−1 (61 and 74 m s−1)—caused extensive damage along a 55-km track through northern Colorado. The worst devastation occurred in and around the town of Windsor, and in total there was one fatality, numerous injuries, and hundreds of homes significantly damaged or destroyed. Several characteristics of this tornado were unusual for the region from a climatological perspective, including its intensity, its long track, its direction of motion, and the time of day when it formed. These unusual aspects and the high impact of this tornado also raised a number of questions about the communication and interpretation of information from National Weather Service watches and warnings by decision makers and the public. First, the study examines the meteorological circumstances responsible for producing such an outlier to the regional severe weather climatology. An analysis of the synoptic and mesoscale environmental conditions that were favorable for significant tornadoes on 22 May 2008 is presented. Then, a climatology of significant tornadoes (defined as those rated F2 or higher on the Fujita scale, or EF2 or higher on the Enhanced Fujita scale) near the Front Range is shown to put the 22 May 2008 event into climatological context. This study also examines the communication and interpretation of severe weather information in an area that experiences tornadoes regularly but is relatively unaccustomed to significant tornadoes. By conducting interviews with local decision makers, the authors have compiled and chronicled the flow of information as the event unfolded. The results of these interviews demonstrate that the initial sources of warning information varied widely. Decision makers’ interpretations of the warnings also varied, which led to different perceptions on the timeliness and clarity of the warning information. The decision makers’ previous knowledge of the typical local characteristics of tornadoes also affected their interpretations of the tornado threat. The interview results highlight the complex series of processes by which severe weather information is communicated after a warning is issued by the National Weather Service. The results of this study support the growing recognition that societal factors are just as important to the effectiveness of weather warnings as the timeliness of and information provided in those warnings, and that these factors should be considered in future research in addition to the investments and attention given to improving detection and warning capabilities.

Interpretation Bias and Anxiety in Childhood: Stability, Specificity and Longitudinal Associations

Biases in the interpretation of ambiguous material are central to cognitive models of anxiety; however, understanding of the association between interpretation and anxiety in childhood is limited. To address this, a prospective investigation of the stability and specificity of anxious cognitions and anxiety and the relationship between these factors was conducted. Sixty-five children (10-11 years) from a community sample completed measures of self-reported anxiety, depression, and conduct problems, and responded to ambiguous stories at three time points over one-year. Individual differences in biases in interpretation of ambiguity (specifically "anticipated distress" and "threat interpretation") were stable over time. Furthermore, anticipated distress and threat interpretation were specifically associated with anxiety symptoms. Distress anticipation predicted change in anxiety symptoms over time. In contrast, anxiety scores predicted change in threat interpretation over time. The results suggest that different cognitive constructs may show different longitudinal links with anxiety. These preliminary findings extend research and theory on anxious cognitions and their link with anxiety in children, and suggest that these cognitive processes may be valuable targets for assessment and intervention.

Are children's own interpretations of ambiguous situations based on how they perceive their mothers have interpreted ambiguous situations for them in the past?

The intergenerational transmission of anxious cognitions and behaviors may be a possible mechanism underlying concordance between maternal and child anxieties. By disambiguating ambiguous situations for their child in a threatening manner, anxious mothers may ‘train’ their children towards a general tendency to also interpret ambiguity in a threatening way. Ninety-two children and their mothers completed trait anxiety measures. Children completed two ambiguous scenario questionnaires, to measure their own interpretations of ambiguous situations (ASQ-C) and to measure their expectations of their mother's interpretation and behavior in response to ambiguous situations involving them (ASQ-EM). Maternal and child anxiety were significantly correlated. Children who made threat interpretations also anticipated that their mother would disambiguate situations for them in a threatening way. The relationship between maternal anxiety and child threat cognitions was mediated by children's expectations of how their mother would disambiguate situations for them when taken together with children's trait anxiety. The present findings provide preliminary support for the suggestion that children of anxious mothers may learn to interpret and respond to ambiguous situations based on how their mothers have interpreted ambiguous situations for them in the past.

Age differences in anxious responding: Older and calmer, unless the trigger is physical.

The current study examines how the aging relevance of anxiety triggers, particularly those tied to physical threat, influences the expression of anxiety in older and younger adults. It was expected that older adults would exhibit less anxiety than younger adults in response to nonphysical triggers but that this age-related difference would diminish when faced with physical triggers. Anxiety responses were measured in older (N = 49, ages 60-85) and younger (N = 49, ages 17-34) adults in response to (a) physical and social anxiety provocations, and (b) a threat interpretation measure. Consistent with hypotheses, results for the anxiety provocations indicated less anxiety among older (vs. younger) adults on a range of anxiety measures (affective, cognitive, physiological) when triggers did not concern physical health, but this age difference diminished when physical health was threatened. Older adults actually reported more threat interpretations than younger adults to physical threat scenarios. Findings are discussed in terms of the aging relevance of anxiety triggers and theoretical accounts of age-related changes in emotional processing.

A disgust mood state causes a negative interpretation bias, but not in the specific domain of body-related concerns

The present study was designed to examine the effects of a disgust mood state on negative interpretation bias, in particular in the domain of body and weight concerns. Participants (N = 120) were randomly assigned to one of four mood induction groups (i.e., disgust, anxiety, happy, and neutral) and were afterwards asked to respond to various types of ambiguous scenarios to index general threat interpretations, negative body-related interpretations, and neutral/positive interpretations. Results demonstrated that both the anxiety and disgust mood induction groups displayed higher levels of negative interpretations of the ambiguous threat scenarios than the neutral and happy groups. However, no evidence was obtained for a negative interpretation bias in the body-related domain for these negative mood groups, and this conclusion was also true for participants scoring high on a scale of eating disorder symptoms. Altogether, these findings suggest that disgust does not play a role in eating pathology by inducing a negative interpretation bias in the specific domain of body and weight concerns.

Probabilistic seismic hazard analysis for rock sites in the cities of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Ra's Al Khaymah, United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is undergoing very rapid development with one of the highest construction rates in the world. A number of studies of the seismic hazard in the UAE have been published in recent years, presenting diverse interpretations of the earthquake threat in this country of relatively low local seismicity, creating confusion regarding appropriate seismic design levels. Although there is inevitably considerable uncertainty associated with the assessment of seismic hazard in such a region, those studies indicating rather high levels of ground motion associated with a 475-year return period are found to be the result of inappropriate seismic source zonations that spread seismicity from the Zagros region of Iran into the Arabian Peninsula. A new probabilistic seismic hazard analysis is performed within a logic-tree framework, and the results displayed as uniform hazard spectra for rock sites in the cities of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Ra's Al Khaymah in the UAE. The results support the UBC 1997 classification of the two former cities in Zone 0 (no seismic design required) whereas in Ra's Al Khaymah Zone 1 would be appropriate.

Interpretation in Social Anxiety: When Meaning Precedes Ambiguity.

Cognitive models of anxiety posit that negative beliefs influence socially anxious individuals' interpretation of ambiguous social cues. However, paradigms used to assess interpretation bias in social anxiety have not addressed such beliefs. Furthermore, studies have assessed interpretation with either self-report or reaction time paradigms, rather than using both methods. In the current study, socially anxious and non-anxious participants completed the Word Sentence Association Paradigm (WSAP). In the WSAP, participants decide whether or not a word (implying a threat or benign interpretation) is related to an ambiguous sentence. Threat or benign meanings preceded the ambiguity in order to examine the influence of positive and negative beliefs on interpretation of ambiguous information. The WSAP results in two types of interpretation indices: (1) response latency to make relatedness decisions for threat and benign interpretations, and (2) endorsement rates of the relatedness of threat and benign interpretations to ambiguous sentences. Results revealed a threat interpretation bias and a lack of a benign interpretation bias in both reaction time and self-report data. Threat and benign biases were not strongly correlated. These findings support the distinction between threat and benign interpretation biases.

Language and the Modulation of Impulsive Aggression

Language and the Modulation of Impulsive Aggression

A multi-session interpretation modification program: Changes in interpretation and social anxiety symptoms

Previous research suggests that socially anxious individuals interpret ambiguous social information in a more threatening manner compared to non-anxious individuals. Recently, studies have experimentally modified interpretation and shown that this subsequently affected anxiety in non-anxious individuals. If similar procedures can modify interpretation biases in socially anxious individuals, they may lead to a reduction in social anxiety symptoms. In the current study, we examined the effect of a computerized Interpretation Modification Program (IMP) on interpretation bias and social anxiety symptoms. Twenty-seven socially anxious individuals were randomly assigned to the IMP or a control condition. Participants completed eight computer sessions over four weeks. The IMP modified interpretation by providing positive feedback when participants made benign interpretations and negative feedback in response to threat interpretations. The IMP successfully decreased threat interpretations, increased benign interpretations, and decreased social anxiety symptoms compared to the control condition. Moreover, changes in benign interpretation mediated IMP's effect on social anxiety. This initial trial suggests that interpretation modification may have clinical utility when applied as a multi-session intervention.

Threat interpretation bias in anxious children and their mothers

The role of parents in the development of anxiety disorders in children is of increasing research and clinical interest. This study investigated interpretation biases of anxious children and their mothers using the ambiguous stimuli task developed by Hadwin, Frost, French, and Richards (1997). Three groups of children (aged 7 to 12 years) and their mothers were recruited; 23 non-clinical controls, 18 children with an anxiety disorder and 15 children with an externalising disorder. Following diagnostic assessments of the children, children and their mothers independently completed the homophone task and self-report measures of anxiety. Mothers of anxious children had significantly higher self-reported anxiety than mothers of non-clinical children. As hypothesised, children in the anxious group had higher threat interpretation scores than the non-clinical group. The hypothesis that mothers of anxious children would make more threat interpretations was not supported. Paired correlations showed no significant association between threat interpretations made by children and their mothers. There was a significant positive correlation between maternal threat interpretation and child anxiety. The results suggest that there is a complex association between mother's anxiety and cognitions and those of their children, which requires further examination in controlled observational and experimental studies, including treatment trials.

Threat-based cognitive biases in anxious children: Comparison with non-anxious children before and after cognitive behavioural treatment

Attention and interpretation biases for threat stimuli were assessed in 19 anxious (ANX) children before and after cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and compared with responses from 19 non-anxious (NA) control children collected over the same period. Attentional bias was assessed using a picture version of the visual probe task with threat, neutral and pleasant pictures. Threat interpretation bias was assessed using both a homographs task in which children used homograph words in a sentence and their neutral or threatening meaning was assessed, and a stories task in which children rated their negative emotion, danger judgments, and influencing ability in ambiguous situations. ANX children showed attention biases towards threat on the visual probe task and threat interpretation biases on the stories task but not the homographs task at pre-treatment in comparison with NA children. Following treatment, ANX children's threat interpretation biases as assessed on the stories task reduced significantly to within levels comparable to NA children. However, ANX children continued to show larger attentional biases towards threat than pleasant pictures on the visual probe task at post-treatment, whereas NA children did not show attentional biases. Moreover, a residual threat interpretation style on the stories task at post-treatment was associated with higher anxiety symptoms in both ANX and NA children.

A “weapon focus” effect in children

Experiments suggest that the presence of a weapon impairs memory for the appearance of the perpetrator (“weapon focus”), although whether this reflects threat or novelty value remains unresolved. To date, no studies have explored whether a parallel effect occurs with children. In a paradigm based on “Kim's game”, children aged 7, 8 and 9 years memorized an array of common objects. For one group, the array contained a syringe filled with red liquid (threat item) while for others this was replaced by a fountain pen (control) or mobile phone (novelty item). Children were tested immediately for recall of the array and unexpectedly, 3 hours later, for the appearance of the experimenter. Consistent with a threat interpretation, children of all ages who saw the array containing the syringe showed significantly decreased recall relative to those who saw the pen or phone (p<0.001) and exhibited poorer memory for the appearance of the experimenter (p<0.001). In addition, children who prioritized the syringe in their recall provided less accurate appearance information, an effect not found for the phone or pen. It is concluded that weapon focus occurs in children and that the current findings are consistent with a threat interpretation.

Interpretations of ambiguous social situations and cardiovascular responses in adolescents

Previous research has documented effects of ambiguous outcome social situations on individual differences in cardiovascular reactivity in laboratory contexts. This study tested whether interpretations of ambiguous social situations are associated with daily life cardiovascular responses using ambulatory approaches. There were 206 high school adolescents assessed on interpretations of ambiguous social situations in the laboratory who then completed ambulatory monitoring of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) for 2 days. Adolescents who perceived threat during ambiguous situations exhibited higher systolic BP when talking to others compared to occasions of not talking with anyone, whereas the opposite was true for those with low threat perception. For high-threat adolescents, higher systolic BP was found when interacting with friends, whereas for low threat adolescents, lower systolic BP was found when interacting with parents. Greater threat interpretations were also associated with elevated HR at night. Understanding how adolescents perceive social interactions may help in gauging their daily cardiovascular responses.

Visual Analysis of Network Traffic for Resource Planning, Interactive Monitoring, and Interpretation of Security Threats

The Internet has become a wild place: malicious code is spread on personal computers across the world, deploying botnets ready to attack the network infrastructure. The vast number of security incidents and other anomalies overwhelms attempts at manual analysis, especially when monitoring service provider backbone links. We present an approach to interactive visualization with a case study indicating that interactive visualization can be applied to gain more insight into these large data sets. We superimpose a hierarchy on IP address space, and study the suitability of Treemap variants for each hierarchy level. Because viewing the whole IP hierarchy at once is not practical for most tasks, we evaluate layout stability when eliding large parts of the hierarchy, while maintaining the visibility and ordering of the data of interest.

Threat interpretation bias as a vulnerability factor in childhood anxiety disorders

The present study examined threat interpretation biases in children 7–12 years of age with separation, social and generalised anxiety disorders ( N=15), non-anxious offspring at risk due to parental anxiety ( N=16) and non-anxious controls of non-anxious parents ( N=14). Children provided interpretations of ambiguous situations to assess cognitive, emotional and behavioural responses. In comparison with non-anxious control children and at-risk children who did not differ from each other, anxious children reported stronger negative emotion and less ability to influence ambiguous situations. These results suggest that threat interpretation bias may be a cognitive factor associated with ongoing childhood anxiety but not a vulnerability factor associated with parental anxiety.