PsychologyMedicine

Crystal Shackleford

2026.6.2BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES

DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x25103397

Abstract

Violence is not a uniform ecological input. This commentary argues that distinguishing between violent ecologies - diffuse crime, instrumental intergroup, and existential - clarifies why threat produces contradictory shifts in preferences foundational to human decision-making. This framework extends affordance-management theory by introducing moral affordances: opportunities to defend the group's identity and survival that can override concerns for personal safety.

Citation format

SHACKLEFORD, Crystal. Violence is not a monolith: Ecologies of threat and their psychological signatures. BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES, 2026, 49: e79.