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The challenge of incorporating unpredictability into a two-tiered model

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2025

Ohad Szepsenwol Open the ORCID record for Ohad Szepsenwol [Opens in a new window]
Ohad Szepsenwol*
Affiliation:
The Department of Education and Educational Counseling, The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Yezreel Valley, Israel ohads@yvc.ac.il
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

In this commentary, I highlight the challenge of incorporating the harshness–unpredictability framework into the two-tiered model. While the effects of energetic stress (first tier), which are mostly mediated through biological pathways, can be decomposed into harsh (high mean) and unpredictable (high variance) components, ambient cues to EM (second tier) blur this distinction because they often share the same psychological mediators.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 48 , 2025 , e125
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© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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