Citation

Velias A, Corr P. Contemp. Voices 2017; 8(2): 62-72.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, School of International Relations, University of St Andrews, Publisher Ubiquity Press)

DOI

10.15664/jtr.1305

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Certain threats, such as terrorism tend to have a low probability of affecting us directly, yet reminders of them (such as media news) are striking. Could individuals with particular personality traits find them distractive from the usual priorities in daily decision-making? This study explored the putative effects of media-driven terrorism threat, on two economic preferences (risk aversion and delay discounting) - using a sample reasonably closely representative of a modern Western city. Participants (N = 78) higher on impulsivity showed lower risk-seeking under terrorism threat. Discussed are directions for further research and the implications for media coverage of terrorist threat.

Language: en

Keywords

choice under risk and uncertainty; coping; mortality; reinforcement sensitivity theory; risk preference; terrorism