Avoidance Tendencies Research Articles

What are aesthetic emotions?

This is the first comprehensive theoretical article on aesthetic emotions. Following Kant's definition, we propose that it is the first and foremost characteristic of aesthetic emotions to make a direct contribution to aesthetic evaluation/appreciation. Each aesthetic emotion is tuned to a special type of perceived aesthetic appeal and is predictive of the subjectively felt pleasure or displeasure and the liking or disliking associated with this type of appeal. Contrary to the negativity bias of classical emotion catalogues, emotion terms used for aesthetic evaluation purposes include far more positive than negative emotions. At the same time, many overall positive aesthetic emotions encompass negative or mixed emotional ingredients. Appraisals of intrinsic pleasantness, familiarity, and novelty are preeminently important for aesthetic emotions. Appraisals of goal relevance/conduciveness and coping potential are largely irrelevant from a pragmatic perspective, but in some cases highly relevant for cognitive and affective coping. Aesthetic emotions are typically sought and savored for their own sake, with subjectively felt intensity and/or emotional arousal being rewards in their own right. The expression component of aesthetic emotions includes laughter, tears, and facial and bodily movements, along with applause or booing and words of praise or blame. Aesthetic emotions entail motivational approach and avoidance tendencies, specifically, tendencies toward prolonged, repeated, or interrupted exposure and wanting to possess aesthetically pleasing objects. They are experienced across a broad range of experiential domains and not coextensive with art-elicited emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

우울이 접근과 회피 경향에 미치는 영향 : 운전과제를 통한 인지적 통제 연구

본 연구에서는 컴퓨터 모의 운전과제를 통해, 우울집단과 비우울집단의 접근행동과 회피행동에서의 차이를 살펴봄으로써, 우울이 인지적 통제에 미치는 영향을 확인하고자 하였다. 본 연구에서는 149명의 대학생들을 모집하여, 우울집단(n=26)과 비우울집단(n=123)에 할당하였다. 참가자들은 조이스틱을 사용하여 가상의 차를 최대한 빨리, 최대한 정확하게 멈춤표지를 넘기거나 벽에 부딪히지 않고 정지시키도록 지시받았으며, 참가자들의 수행은 연속적 시간 내에서 모두 기록되었다. 연구 결과, 우울집단은 비우울집단에 비해 운전과제 수행상 멈춤표지 조건과 벽 조건 모두에서 오류가 더 적은 것으로 나타났으며, 목표자극까지의 정지거리가 유의하게 더 긴 것으로 나타나 우울집단의 인지적 통제력 손상이 시사되었다. 본 연구 결과의 임상적 함의와 제한점에 대해 논하였다.

우울이 접근과 회피 경향에 미치는 영향 : 운전과제를 통한 인지적 통제 연구

본 연구에서는 컴퓨터 모의 운전과제를 통해, 우울집단과 비우울집단의 접근행동과 회피행동에서의 차이를 살펴봄으로써, 우울이 인지적 통제에 미치는 영향을 확인하고자 하였다. 본 연구에서는 149명의 대학생들을 모집하여, 우울집단(n=26)과 비우울집단(n=123)에 할당하였다. 참가자들은 조이스틱을 사용하여 가상의 차를 최대한 빨리, 최대한 정확하게 멈춤표지를 넘기거나 벽에 부딪히지 않고 정지시키도록 지시받았으며, 참가자들의 수행은 연속적 시간 내에서 모두 기록되었다. 연구 결과, 우울집단은 비우울집단에 비해 운전과제 수행상 멈춤표지 조건과 벽 조건 모두에서 오류가 더 적은 것으로 나타났으며, 목표자극까지의 정지거리가 유의하게 더 긴 것으로 나타나 우울집단의 인지적 통제력 손상이 시사되었다. 본 연구 결과의 임상적 함의와 제한점에 대해 논하였다.

Does Customization Benefit Brand Evaluation When Consumers Experience Psychological Uncertainty?

The online environment is filled with uncertain situations. Although digital interface plays an important role in online information processing, limited research has explored whether digital interface could influence how consumers deal with the psychological state of uncertainty in the online environment. The present study focuses on customization as an important feature of digital interface. A lab experiment was conducted to analyze the interplay between psychological uncertainty, interface customization, and the individual trait of uncertainty avoidance on consumers’ online brand evaluation. The results indicated that participants with a strong tendency of uncertainty avoidance evaluated a brand on a customized website more favorably than a non-customized website when they experienced psychological uncertainty. Such effects were not observed among participants with a weak tendency of uncertainty avoidance.

Measures of Implicit Cognition for Marketing Research

Academics and managers need to know that key mental processes occur below the conscious awareness threshold. While unconscious processes largely influence consumer decision-making processes, self-report measures do not reveal these processes adequately. Consequently, marketers need to utilise psychologists’ indirect measures that infer unconscious mental content from reaction-time tasks. Three well-known tools are explicated in the present article: the Emotional Stroop Task, the Implicit Association Test (IAT), and the Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT). Each test taps into a different facet of implicit cognition. This research describes these test instruments’ experimental setups and alternative procedures to guide academics and practitioners when they apply implicit measures. The Ask Your Brain (AYB) survey software is presented as an online research platform for executing all three test types and provides a cost-efficient alternative to lab experiments. In this paper’s conceptual part, we outline the three test instruments’ research paradigms and describe their past applications in the marketing domain. We describe each implicit measurement instrument’s conceptual background, summarize its standard test procedures, and briefly discuss relevant methodological criticisms. We describe how the obtained measurement data should be prepared, condensed, and analysed. Subsequently, we present an empirical case to illustrate the concrete application of the different measurement instruments, utilising empirical data gained from a consumer protection study of 104 South African students. These young adults were confronted with alcohol stimuli in the Emotional Stroop Task, IAT, and AAT. They subsequently performed a discrete choice task related to alcoholic drinks and soft drinks. Based on their drink choices, we explore the extent to which the implicit measures relate to their choice behaviour. The Emotional Stroop Task is based on the premise that emotional stimuli attract more visual attention than neutral stimuli. This distraction causes a delay in response when participants are asked to name a displayed word's colour as fast as possible. Although our study could not directly support this premise, alcohol-inclined participants generally reacted more slowly to alcohol and neutral stimuli. The IAT confronts participants with combinations of a bipolar target category and a bipolar attribute category. Category combinations corresponding to the respondent's intuition (compatible) facilitate task performance and result in shorter reaction times. In our study, those individuals who chose significantly more drinks containing alcohol reacted faster to combinations of “alcohol” and “active” (rather than “alcohol” and “miserable”). This finding shows that the IAT can indeed predict choice behaviour. Finally, the AAT postulates that individuals move faster to a desired object and away from an undesired object. Both the reaction times and the error rates indicated this pattern. Individuals were slower and produced more errors during incongruent tasks (push positive items; pull negative items) than congruent tasks (pull liked items, push disliked items). This finding show that implicit measures can identify consumers´ approach and avoidance tendencies. This paper provides methodological insights into three prominent implicit cognition measures, as well as practical suggestions for practitioners and academics. We exemplify each method’s usage for research questions in marketing and consumer research. We particularly suggest using the Emotional Stroop Task for studies on attention-based processes, for example, advertisement exposure. The IAT is recommended for assessing richer cognitive processes, such as product or brand images, and the AAT when studying visceral and biological influences on impulsive consumption. Overall, we encourage marketing researchers to add implicit measures to their toolbox and to explore their contributions further for a better understanding of consumer decision making.

Approach/avoidance personality traits as predictors of psychopathology in convicted offenders

This study examined the role of approach and avoidance personality traits as temperamental risk factors for psychopathology using the revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory as theoretical framework. Self-report measures were administered to male convicted offenders (N = 162) and controls matched for age, education, and ethnicity (N = 162). The results show higher approach and passive avoidance tendencies in the forensic sample, as well as higher psychological distress relative to controls. In the forensic sample, both approach and avoidance traits can account for a high degree of psychopathology vulnerability. However, higher behavioral inhibition system sensitivity is the primary risk factor both for general distress and various dimensions of psychopathology, while lower behavioral approach system sensitivity predicts internalizing psychopathology, paranoid, and psychoticism symptoms. The findings are discussed both in the general context of personality-psychopathology links, as well as in the forensic context of potential mental health interventions as part of rehabilitation prison programs.

How does smog influence domestic tourism in China? A case study of Beijing

ABSTRACTThis study took Beijing as a case to examine the potential impact of smog on the domestic demand of tourist destinations in China. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to explore and confirm the causal relationships between perception of travel risk, travel dissatisfaction, negative destination and avoidance tendency. It is found that the Mainland Chinese residents have a strong perception of the potential travel risk caused by smog in Beijing. Moreover, the impact of travel risk perception on avoidance tendency is indirect and works through the mediating variables such as travel dissatisfaction or negative destination image.

Approach and avoidance: Relations with the thin body ideal in women with disordered eating behavior

Recent research suggests that automatic cognitive biases are linked to body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behavior. However, little is known about automatic action tendencies in the field of body image research. The aim of the present study was to examine approach and avoidance biases toward the thin body ideal and normal weight bodies and whether these are pronounced in individuals showing disordered eating behavior. Participants were divided into a group with disordered eating behavior (n = 55) and without disordered eating behavior (n = 45). To assess approach and avoidance tendencies, the Approach-Avoidance Task was used during which the participants were instructed to approach or avoid thin and normal weight body pictures. Our results indicated faster push than pull movements towards thin and normal weight body pictures. However, participants with and without disordered eating behavior did not differ with regard to their reactions. Furthermore, we found positive associations between the avoidance of normal weight body pictures and perceived pressure to confirm to media ideals. Future research is warranted to replicate our findings and to extend our knowledge on approach and avoidance biases toward body pictures in patients suffering from eating disorders.

A computer-based avatar task designed to assess behavioral inhibition extends to behavioral avoidance but not cognitive avoidance.

Avoidance is a common feature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as anxiety and depressive disorders. Avoidance can be expressed behaviorally as well as cognitively. Most personality assessments for avoidance involve self-report inventories which are susceptible to biased responding. The avatar task (Myers et al., 2016a) was developed as an objective measure of behavioral inhibition (BI) which is defined as a tendency for avoidance of unfamiliar people and situations. The avatar task has been demonstrated to screen avoidant behaviors related to BI, PTSD, as well as harm avoidance (HA) as measured by the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ). In the current work, the avatar task was tested with cognitive as well as behavioral avoidance as measured by the cognitive-behavioral avoidance scale (CBAS; Ottenbreit & Dobson, 2004). The CBAS includes four subscales which measure behavioral social (BS) avoidance, behavioral non-social (BN) avoidance, cognitive social (CS) avoidance, and cognitive non-social (CN) avoidance. It was hypothesized that avatar scores would be significantly positively related to behavioral, but not cognitive, avoidance. In addition, it was also hypothesized that performance on the avatar task would be more related to social than non-social behavioral avoidance. Participants completed the avatar task, the HA scale of the TPQ and the CBAS. Pearson’s product moment correlations revealed that avatar scores were significantly related to CBAS total scores as well as BS and BN scores, but not CS and CN scores. In addition, BS has a stronger relationship with avatar scores than BN avoidance which fits with the social aspects of the scenarios in the avatar task. A median split of the avatar scores produced a significant difference in scores on the behavioral but not the cognitive subscales. Overall, the current results supported the idea that the avatar task is measuring behavioral avoidance, specifically in social situations, rather than cognitive avoidance. Future work could adapt the avatar task to include scenarios similar to the cognitive items on the CBAS to create an objective measure of cognitive avoidance which may be relevant in measuring avoidance in depression and behavioral avoidance associated with PTSD as well as anxiety disorders.

Avoiding sedentary behaviors requires more cortical resources than avoiding physical activity: An EEG study

Why do individuals fail to exercise regularly despite knowledge of the risks associated with physical inactivity? Automatic processes regulating exercise behaviors may partly explain this paradox. Yet, these processes have only been investigated with behavioral outcomes (i.e., based on reaction times). Here, using electroencephalography, we investigated the cortical activity underlying automatic approach and avoidance tendencies toward stimuli depicting physical activity and sedentary behaviors in 29 young adults who were physically active or physically inactive but with the intention of becoming physically active. Behavioral results showed faster reactions when approaching physical activity compared to sedentary behaviors and when avoiding sedentary behaviors compared to physical activity. These faster reactions were more pronounced in physically active individuals and were associated with changes during sensory integration (earlier onset latency and larger positive deflection of the stimulus-locked lateralized readiness potentials) but not during motor preparation (no effect on the response-locked lateralized readiness potentials). Faster reactions when avoiding sedentary behaviors compared to physical activity were also associated with higher conflict monitoring (larger early and late N1 event-related potentials) and higher inhibition (larger N2 event-related potentials), irrespective of the usual level of physical activity. These results suggest that additional cortical resources were required to counteract an attraction to sedentary behaviors. Data and Materials [https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1169140]. Preprint [https://doi.org/10.1101/277988].

116 Approach and Avoidance Tendencies Towards Pornographic Stimuli in Hypersexual Disorder

Hypersexual disorder (HD) comes with clinically significant personal distress for patients and further social and medical morbidity. Yet, there are heterogeneous attempts concerning etiology, phenomenology and diagnostic classification of HD. Several studies have outlined similarities between HD and addictive behaviors and substance dependencies. Attentional biases and implicit cognitions, in particular approach and avoidance tendencies, have been related to craving responses in substance dependent individuals. The rationale is that addiction-congruent images should facilitate pull (i.e., approach) responses in relation to neutral stimuli. Investigating these cognitive mechanisms in HD could help understanding the diagnosis in terms of a behavioral addiction, thus giving further options to address in therapy. A sample of 46 HD patients and 37 healthy age- and intelligence-matched healthy control (HC) participants completed the Approach Avoidance Task (AAT; Rinck and Becker, 2007) modified with pornographic pictures. During the AAT participants either had to push pornographic stimuli away or pull them toward themselves with a joystick. Additionally, tendencies towards cybersex addiction were assessed.

The Effects of Tears on Approach-Avoidance Tendencies in Observers.

Emotional tears have been proposed to represent a robust affiliative signal whose main function is to promote the willingness to help the crying individual. However, little is known about the psychological mechanisms at the basis of such responses. To investigate whether tears facilitate approach relative to avoidance tendencies, we exposed participants ( N = 77) to pictures of faces with and without visible tears, in two different approach-avoidance tasks. In the first task, participants were instructed to either move toward tearful faces and away from nontearful faces, or the other way around, by using a joystick. In the second task, participants made approaching or avoiding responses to tearful and nontearful faces by pressing buttons. The results suggest that tears facilitate behavior that reduces the distance between the observer and the crying person. However, while tears appear to promote approach relative to avoidance behavior, the current findings do not allow firm conclusions about whether tears specifically facilitate approach or rather block avoidance tendencies in observers, or whether they possibly have both effects. Findings are discussed in the context of tears' ability to act as a prosocial stimulus that signals non-aggressive intentions, as well as in the context of the functional goals that predispose humans to approach or avoid crying individuals.

The predictive value of Approach and Avoidance tendencies on the onset and course of depression and anxiety disorders.

BackgroundTrait and automatic approach‐avoidance (AA) tendencies are central concepts in research on affective disorders. We longitudinally examined the associations of trait and automatic AA tendencies with the risk of onset and chronicity of anxiety and depressive disorders.MethodsParticipants were subdivided into those with (n = 766) versus without (n = 1,636) a current anxiety or depression diagnosis at baseline. Clinical diagnoses were reassessed after 2‐year follow‐up. Automatic AA tendencies in reaction to facial expressions were assessed using the Approach‐Avoidance Task, whereas self‐reported trait AA tendencies were assessed using the Behavioral Inhibition System and the Behavioral Activation System scales. Analyses were adjusted for socio‐demographics (basic adjustment) and for severity and history of psychopathology (full adjustment).ResultsStronger trait avoidance tendencies predicted both increased risk of onset and increased risk of a chronic course of anxiety disorders after full adjustment (Odds ratioonset = 1.55, P < .001, and Odds ratiochronicity = 1.31, P = .03). The associations between stronger trait avoidance tendencies and increased risk of onset and chronicity of depressive disorders were no longer significant after full adjustment. In contrast, trait approach tendencies and automatic AA tendencies were not related to onset or chronicity of disorders.ConclusionsIncreased trait avoidance tendencies are a risk factor for affective disorders in general, with possibly a slightly more pronounced role in anxiety than depressive disorders. This underlines the importance of addressing trait avoidance tendencies in both the treatment and aftercare of affective disorders.

Taking a Detour: Affective Stimuli Facilitate Ultimately (Not Immediately) Compatible Approach-Avoidance Tendencies.

Abundant evidence suggests that affective stimuli facilitate responses that lead to a compatible change in distance between the affective stimulus and the self (positive → approach, negative → avoidance). A special situation arises, when a barrier blocks the direct way toward or away from an affective stimulus. Recent evidence suggests that in such cases affective stimuli facilitate responses that ultimately lead to a compatible change in distance, even when this requires an initial step in the opposite and thus incompatible direction. The present study investigated whether this is the case even when relatively complex processing is required to recognize the presence of a barrier and, thus, the need for a detour. Employing a stimulus-response-compatibility task, we asked participants to move a manikin along the pathways of a maze toward or away from a positive or negative stimulus. The direct way was possible on half of the trials and blocked by a barrier on the other half of the trials. In the latter case, the manikin had to first be moved in the direction opposite to the position ultimately intended. We manipulated between participants the type of barrier and, thus, the complexity of cognitive processing required to recognize the need for a detour. In the simple condition, a black bar was presented as a barrier on the way. In the complex condition, a blue or yellow bar was presented, and the color indicated whether the bar constituted a barrier (locked gate) or not (open gate). Replicating and extending previous findings, the present study shows that affective stimuli facilitate ultimately (not immediately) compatible approach–avoidance responses, even when relatively complex processing is required to recognize the need for a detour.

Farsighted and automatic: Affective stimuli facilitate ultimately compatible approach–avoidance tendencies even in the absence of evaluation goals

Research has shown that affective stimuli automatically trigger responses that ultimately cause a compatible distance change (positive-approach, negative-avoidance), even when this requires an initial movement in the opposite and thus incompatible direction (detour). It is unclear, however, which features of automaticity apply to this effect. The present study investigated whether this effect depends on the goal to evaluate stimulus valence. Participants responded with approach and avoidance movements to affective stimuli. Half of the trials required a detour, i.e., participants initially moved in the direction opposite to the position ultimately intended. The goal of stimulus evaluation was manipulated between participants (present vs. absent). Affective stimuli facilitated ultimately compatible approach–avoidance responses even in the absence of evaluation goals, albeit the effect was larger when evaluation goals were present. The present findings suggest that distance regulation towards and away from affective stimuli is farsighted and automatic at the same time .

S.03.01 - Neuro-endocrine control mechanisms in social motivational actions, relevance for social psychopathologies

S.03.01 - Neuro-endocrine control mechanisms in social motivational actions, relevance for social psychopathologies

Correction: Exploring the Relationship between Experiential Avoidance, Coping Functions and the Recency and Frequency of Self-Harm.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159854.].

Odnos ciljeva postignuća, strategija učenja i ocjena u srednjoškolskoj nastavi fizike

Cilj istraživanja bio je provjeriti odnos ciljeva postignuća, strategija učenja i ocjena u srednjoškolskoj nastavi fizike. Ciljevi postignuća predstavljaju važan motivacijski konstrukt koji je razvijen u okviru teorija samoreguliranog učenja te se dovode u vezu s različitim obrazovnim ishodima kao što su strategije učenja i ocjene. Istraživanje je provedeno na 208 učenika drugog i trećeg razreda općega gimnazijskog usmjerenja. U svrhu ispitivanja ciljeva postignuća i strategija učenja korišteni su Upitnik ciljeva postignuća (Elliot i McGregor, 2001), koji se sastoji od 12 čestica i mjeri četiri cilja postignuća: ovladavanje uključivanjem, ovladavanje izbjegavanjem, izvedbu uključivanjem i izvedbu izbjegavanjem, te Skala strategija učenja (Lončarić, 2014), koja se sastoji od 39 čestica i mjeri tri supskale strategija učenja: ciklus (meta)kognitivne kontrole, dubinsko kognitivno procesiranje i površinsko kognitivno procesiranje. Mjera uspjeha u fizici bila je ocjena na kraju prethodnog razreda. Pretpostavljeni su odnosi među varijablama testirani metodom analize traga unutar strukturalnog modeliranja. Istraživanje je pokazalo da ciljevi postignuća značajno predviđaju obrazovne ishode u nastavi fizike (strategije učenja i ocjene) te da su se pretpostavljeni odnosi, koji se temelje na ranije provedenim istraživanjima, u velikoj mjeri potvrdili. Ciljevi postignuća s tendencijom uključivanja imaju značajan pozitivan efekt na poželjne obrazovne ishode. Ciljevi postignuća s tendencijom izbjegavanja pozitivno su povezane s površinskim procesiranjem. Rezultati su potvrdili i posredujući učinak strategija učenja u odnosu ciljeva postignuća na ovladavanje uključivanjem i ocjena iz fizike. Ovo istraživanje naglašava potrebu za usmjeravanjem učenika na učenje radi stjecanja znanja i kompetencija te potrebu za poticanjem korištenja metakognitivnih strategija. Istraživanje, također, upućuje na moguće nedostatke obrazovnog sustava, kao što je nepostojanje značajnog efekta dubinskoga kognitivnog procesiranja na ocjene iz fizike, što pretpostavlja potrebu i važnost daljnjeg istraživanja u ovom području.

Evitación y contacto en función de diferentes perfiles en estereotipos de moralidad y reacciones emocionales hacia personas de etnia gitana

In Spain, the persistence of the stereotypes and prejudices toward the gypsy ethnic people perpetuates the negative behaviors toward them. This study analyze two different profiles of the majority group defined by their scores on variables of stereotypes of morality and emotional reactions of fear and anger, all directed towards gypsy ethnic people. The study was conducted on a sample similar in composition to the Spanish population in terms of age and sex. The results confirm that both profiles (i.e., Positive Profile and Negative Profile) show differences in their behavioral tendencies of avoidance and in the quality of the contact with persons of gypsy ethnic people.

Evitación y contacto en función de diferentes perfiles en estereotipos de moralidad y reacciones emocionales hacia personas de etnia gitana

In Spain, the persistence of the stereotypes and prejudices toward the gypsy ethnic people perpetuates the negative behaviors toward them. This study analyze two different profiles of the majority group defined by their scores on variables of stereotypes of morality and emotional reactions of fear and anger, all directed towards gypsy ethnic people. The study was conducted on a sample similar in composition to the Spanish population in terms of age and sex. The results confirm that both profiles (i.e., Positive Profile and Negative Profile) show differences in their behavioral tendencies of avoidance and in the quality of the contact with persons of gypsy ethnic people.