Final answer:
A person may feel threatened if they lack competence to handle a demand, and competency is closely linked to the concept of self-efficacy, the belief in one's abilities to succeed.
Step-by-step explanation:
It is threatening for a person to feel that he or she lacks competence to cope with a particular demand. Competence here means having the necessary ability, knowledge, or skill to do something successfully. This relates closely to the concept of self-efficacy, which is a person's belief in their own abilities to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task. Albert Bandura's theory emphasizes that self-efficacy affects every area of human endeavor, by determining the beliefs a person holds regarding their power to affect situations, how much effort they will put forth in an endeavor, and their persistence in the face of adversity.
The answer to the question is therefore 'a. competence'.