The Transformative Side of Societal Stress: Threat and Challenge Responses to Progressive Social Changes
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Research showed that social changes elicit threat, which is considered a negative response to be avoided to improve intergroup relations. However, this approach overlooks the transformative potential of positive stress (challenge) for progressive social changes. To address this gap, we investigated whether, and if so, under what conditions, social change is perceived as threatening or challenging. Results from a representative Dutch sample (N = 411) revealed that social change is more threatening than the status quo. Furthermore, the instrumental (vs. symbolic) aspects of change, and its perceived demands and uncertainty heighten threat, while the ingroup and system (vs. personal) dimensions of change, and social resources and support buffer against threat. Our results offer insight into what factors promote more adaptive (challenge) rather than maladaptive (threat) responses to social changes. They encourage a critical perspective on social change, framing threat not as inherently negative but as tensions to be navigated.
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7223234663