Sex differences in threat sensitivity: Evidence from two experimental paradigms

Sex differences in fear and pain suggest the possibility of sex differences in an underlying threat reactivity (or punishment sensitivity) system. This system would prime vigorous behavioral responses to threatening input and give rise to stronger, more quickly changing feelings within threatening contexts. Two studies sought to model such processes. Study 1 focused on emotion-primed losses of motor control in response to aversive, threatening noise. Women, but not men, exhibited a reactivity pattern of this type. Study 2 then examined subjective responses to affective pictures within a task that probed moment-by-moment changes. Women did not react more quickly to unpleasant pictures, but their reactions were larger in size and they were more dynamic, as reflected in a velocity of change metric. The results highlight processes of explanatory value in understanding and organizing a broader literature concerned with sex differences in motivation and emotion.