3 Regulating Psychological Threat The Motivational Consequences of Threatening Contexts Bastiaan T. Rutjens, Joop van der Pligt, and Frenk van Harreveld Modern society has become increasingly complex and uncertain. On both the individual and societal level, there are numerous examples of instability, crisis, and threat that might instil the view that we are living in a risk society (Beck, 1992), or even more extreme, in “the age of anxiety” (Twenge, 2000). Crisis and threat can be societal, man-made, or natural; examples include the recent financial crises, climate change, war, disease, tsunamis, and terrorist threat. These disruptions of the status quo can lead to decreased perceptions of personal control and choice, and enhance feelings of risk, uncertainty, and unpredictability. Moreover, events like the 9/11 terrorist attacks resulted in public safety measures that serve as continual reminders of terrorism-related threats (Bongar, Brown, Beutler, Breckenridge, & Zimbardo, 2006). The crumbling authority of experts (e.g., scientists and politicians) when it comes to interpreting phenomena such as terrorism and climate change (e.g., Gleick et al., 2010) likely contributes further to the uncertainty that is associated with these threats. Contemporary West- ern or industrialized societies have also undergone a process of secu- larization; in many European countries, for example, church membership has declined significantly (Halman & Draulans, 2006). Together with the aforementioned decline of the interpretive power of Restoring Civil Societies: The Psychology of Intervention and Engagement Following Crisis, First Edition. Edited by Kai J. Jonas and Thomas A. Morton. Ó 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.