Trait-Anxiety and Belief Updating: Exploring the predictions of the negativity bias and contrast avoidance model.

Beliefs play a crucial role in shaping our behaviors and mental-health outcomes. Asymmetric belief updating refers to the phenomenon where desirable information is updated more readily than undesirable information. An essential feature of anxiety is threat-overestimation and a tendency to focus on the negative aspects of experience while avoiding sharp negative emotional contrasts. These two characteristics lead to different predictions concerning belief updating. One scenario would suggest a reduction in asymmetric update behavior, indicating negativity bias, while the other would indicate an increase in asymmetric update, indicating contrast avoidance. To test these two rival predictions, participants (n = 44) first completed trait-measures and then performed a belief update task. Moreover, memory for the information presented was assessed in the short-term and long-term. Skin conductance response was measured to assess arousal levels during the task. Overall, our findings revealed that higher levels of trait-anxiety predicted a greater integration of desirable information but not undesirable information. In contrast, trait-intolerance of uncertainty did not exhibit an association with update behavior. Skin conductance and memory were not associated with trait-measures. We discuss these results in line with the Contrast Avoidance Model of anxiety, in terms of avoidance of unexpected negative contrast and positive contrast induced by relief during belief updating.