Sex differences in fear and pain suggest the possibility of sex differences in an underlying threat reactivity (or punishment sensitivity) system. This system would prime vigorous behavioral responses to threatening input and give rise to stronger, more quickly changing feelings within threatening contexts. Two studies sought to model such processes. Study 1 focused on emotion-primed losses of motor control in response to aversive, threatening noise. Women, but not men, exhibited a reactivity pattern of this type. Study 2 then examined subjective responses to affective pictures within a task that probed moment-by-moment changes. Women did not react more quickly to unpleasant pictures, but their reactions were larger in size and they were more dynamic, as reflected in a velocity of change metric. The results highlight processes of explanatory value in understanding and organizing a broader literature concerned with sex differences in motivation and emotion.

恐惧和痛苦中的性别差异表明潜在威胁反应（或惩罚敏感性）系统中可能存在性别差异。该系统将引发对威胁性输入的强有力的行为响应，并在威胁性环境中引起更强烈，更快速地变化的感觉。有两项研究试图对这种过程进行建模。研究1集中于情绪激动引起的对厌恶，威胁性噪音做出反应的运动控制丧失。女性而不是男性表现出这种类型的反应模式。然后，研究2考察了任务在逐时变化的情况下对情感图片的主观反应。妇女对不愉快的照片的反应没有更快，但是她们的反应更大，而且更有活力，反映在变化速度指标上。