Carver, C. S., Meyer, B., & Antoni, M. H. (2000). Responsiveness to threats and incentives, expectancy of recurrence, and distress and disengagement: Moderator effects in early-stage breast cancer patients. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 965-975..
Models of neurobiological systems linking personality, motivation,
and
emotion can be integrated with the expectancy construct to suggest
hypotheses
about distress and giving up in response to adversity. In 220
breast
cancer patients, we measured threat responsiveness—sensitivity of the
Behavioral
Inhibition System (BIS)—and incentive responsiveness—sensitivity of the
Behavioral Activation System (BAS)—and expectancies about cancer
recurrence.
We predicted and found that High BIS sensitivity interacted with
recurrence
expectancy to predict elevated distress and disengagement. Low BAS
sensitivity
(Reward responsiveness) also interacted with expectancy of recurrence
to
predict elevated disengagement. In contrast, high BAS sensitivity
(Fun seeking) interacted with expectancy to predict elevated distress.
Discussion centers on theoretical implications and possible
applications.
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