Approaching contamination-related stimuli with an implicit Approach-Avoidance Task: Can it reduce OCD symptoms? An online pilot study

2017 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 180-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricarda Weil ◽  
Ansgar Feist ◽  
Steffen Moritz ◽  
Charlotte E. Wittekind
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Avoidance Task ◽  
Implicit Approach ◽  
Approach Avoidance

Stop Pushing Me Away: Relative Level of Facebook Addiction Is Associated With Implicit Approach Motivation for Facebook Stimuli

2018 ◽  
Vol 122 (6) ◽  
pp. 2012-2025 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Juergensen ◽  
Christina Leckfor
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Measure ◽  
Avoidance Task ◽  
Approach Motivation ◽  
Relative Level ◽  
Implicit Approach ◽  
Initial Support ◽  
Approach Avoidance ◽  
Facebook Addiction ◽  
Approach And Withdrawal ◽  
And Training

The use of Facebook and other social media sites has increased to the point that some consider it to be a behavioral addiction. Previously, research has used the Approach–Avoidance Task to measure implicit approach and withdrawal tendencies in response to a variety of stimuli, including alcohol, desserts, cigarettes, spiders, and cannabis. When responding to these types of stimuli, individuals typically evidence an approach bias toward appetitive images and a withdrawal bias in response to undesirable and/or fearful stimuli. The present study was designed to test the validity of an adapted version of the Approach–Avoidance Task by investigating how self-reported Facebook addiction tendencies, measured via the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale, predicted automatic approach tendencies toward Facebook-related stimuli using the Facebook-Approach–Avoidance Task. Participants with higher self-reported tendencies of Facebook addiction tended to approach Facebook-related stimuli faster. The present study is the first to indicate a relationship between self-reported Facebook addiction tendencies and implicit approach motivation using a behavioral measure. This finding provides initial support for the use of the Facebook-Approach–Avoidance Task as a measure of Facebook addiction, and further validation could lead to the development of additional assessment and training paradigms in the future.

Acute aerobic exercise increases implicit approach motivation for dessert images

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 807-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine N May ◽  
Nora L Nock ◽  
Devon Bentley ◽  
Heath A Demaree
Keyword(s):  
Acute Exercise ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Avoidance Task ◽  
Approach Motivation ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Avoidance Motivation ◽  
Implicit Approach ◽  
Approach Avoidance ◽  
Food Images ◽  
Implicit Response

We examined the effect of acute exercise compared to a cognitive task on implicit approach/avoidance motivation to dessert food images using the Dessert–Approach–Avoidance Task. Participants randomized to exercise had a greater increase in approach motivation to dessert images compared to those completing cognitive tasks ( p=0.046), adjusting for disordered eating, task difficulty, and changes in negative affect. This study provides the first evidence for the use of the Dessert–Approach–Avoidance Task to evaluate the effects of acute exercise on implicit motivations for dessert images. Future studies should examine implicit response to food images using the Dessert–Approach–Avoidance Task in response to chronic exercise.

scholarly journals Patients with Ventromedial Prefrontal Lesions Show an Implicit Approach Bias to Angry Faces

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Macià Buades-Rotger ◽  
Anne-Kristin Solbakk ◽  
Matthias Liebrand ◽  
Tor Endestad ◽  
Ingrid Funderud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Avoidance Task ◽  
Social Signals ◽  
Emotional Facial Expressions ◽  
Approach Bias ◽  
Linear Ballistic Accumulator ◽  
Implicit Approach ◽  
Negative Drift ◽  
Approach Avoidance ◽  
And Gender

Abstract Damage to the ventromedial PFC (VMPFC) can cause maladaptive social behavior, but the cognitive processes underlying these behavioral changes are still uncertain. Here, we tested whether patients with acquired VMPFC lesions show altered approach–avoidance tendencies to emotional facial expressions. Thirteen patients with focal VMPFC lesions and 31 age- and gender-matched healthy controls performed an implicit approach–avoidance task in which they either pushed or pulled a joystick depending on stimulus color. Whereas controls avoided angry faces, VMPFC patients displayed an incongruent response pattern characterized by both increased approach and reduced avoidance of angry facial expressions. The approach bias was stronger in patients with higher self-reported impulsivity and disinhibition and in those with larger lesions. We further used linear ballistic accumulator modeling to investigate latent parameters underlying approach–avoidance decisions. Controls displayed negative drift rates when approaching angry faces, whereas VMPFC lesions abolished this pattern. In addition, VMPFC patients had weaker response drifts than controls during avoidance. Finally, patients showed reduced drift rate variability and shorter nondecision times, indicating impulsive and rigid decision-making. Our findings thus suggest that VMPFC damage alters the pace of evidence accumulation in response to social signals, eliminating a default, protective avoidant bias and facilitating a dysfunctional approach behavior.

scholarly journals Orbitofrontal lesion patients show an implicit approach bias to angry faces

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Macià Buades-Rotger ◽  
Anne-Kristin Solbakk ◽  
Matthias Liebrand ◽  
Tor Endestad ◽  
Ingrid Funderud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Avoidance Task ◽  
Social Signals ◽  
Emotional Facial Expressions ◽  
Approach Bias ◽  
Implicit Approach ◽  
Approach Avoidance ◽  
Angry Face

AbstractDamage to the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) can cause maladaptive social behavior, but the cognitive processes underlying these behavioral changes are still uncertain. Here, we tested whether patients with acquired OFC lesions show altered approach-avoidance tendencies to emotional facial expressions. Thirteen patients with focal OFC lesions and 31 age- and gender-matched healthy controls performed an implicit approach-avoidance task in which they either pushed or pulled a joystick depending on stimulus color. While controls avoided angry faces, OFC patients displayed an incongruent response pattern characterized by both increased approach and reduced avoidance of angry facial expressions. The approach bias was stronger in patients with higher self-reported impulsivity and disinhibition, and in those with larger lesions. Moreover, patients committed more errors in the task, which in turn was correlated with self-rated clinical impairment. We further used linear ballistic accumulator modelling to investigate latent parameters underlying approach-avoidance decisions. Controls displayed negative drift rates when approaching angry faces, whereas OFC lesions abolished this bias. In addition, OFC patients had weaker response drifts than controls during angry face avoidance. Finally, patients showed generally reduced variability in drift rates and shorter non-decision times, indicating impulsive and rigid decision-making. In sum, our findings suggest that OFC damage alters the pace of evidence accumulation in response to threat signals, eliminating a default, protective avoidant bias and facilitating dysfunctional approach behavior.Significance statementLesions in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) may alter social behavior, rendering individuals irritable or reckless. However, the precise cognitive mechanisms underlying these changes are unknown. We here examined whether OFC damage impacts how persons respond to social signals using a joystick-based task. Contrary to control participants, patients showed both increased approach to, and reduced avoidance of angry facial expressions, i.e. they were quicker to pull angry faces close and slower to push them away. Further analyses of reaction times revealed that OFC patients lack a default tendency against angry face approach, and that they show a slower decision build-up when avoiding angry faces. Thus, our findings suggest that OFC lesions reduce fearful responses to social threat signals.

scholarly journals Measuring Implicit Approach–Avoidance Tendencies towards Food Using a Mobile Phone Outside the Lab

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1440
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Brouwer ◽  
Jasper J. van Beers ◽  
Priya Sabu ◽  
Ivo V. Stuldreher ◽  
Hilmar G. Zech ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Rating Scales ◽  
Movement Direction ◽  
Avoidance Task ◽  
Implicit Measure ◽  
Palatable Food ◽  
Implicit Approach ◽  
Approach Avoidance ◽  
Food Images ◽  
Response Biases

Implicit (‘unconscious’) approach–avoidance tendencies towards stimuli can be measured using the Approach Avoidance Task (AAT). We recently expanded a toolbox for analyzing the raw data of a novel, mobile version of the AAT (mAAT), that asks participants to move their phone towards their face (pull) or away (push) in response to images presented on the phone. We here tested the mAAT reaction time and the mAAT distance in a study with 71 Dutch participants that were recruited online and performed an experiment without coming to the laboratory. The participants used both the mAAT and (explicit) rating scales to respond to photographic images of food. As hypothesized, the rated wanting, rated valence and mAAT reaction time indicated a preference for palatable over unpalatable food, and for Dutch over Asian food. Additionally, as expected, arousal was rated higher for unpalatable than for palatable food, and higher for Dutch than for Asian food. The mAAT distance indicated that the unpalatable food images were moved across larger distances, regardless of the movement direction (pull or push), compared to the palatable food images; and the Dutch food images were moved across larger distances than the Asian food images. We conclude that the mAAT can be used to implicitly probe approach–avoidance motivation for complex images in the food domain. The new measure of mAAT distance may be used as an implicit measure of arousal. The ratings and the mAAT measures do not reflect the exact same information and may complement each other. Implicit measures, such as mAAT variables, are particularly valuable when response biases that can occur when using explicit ratings are expected.

scholarly journals The Attraction of Sugar: An Association between Body Mass Index and Impaired Avoidance of Sweet Snacks

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce Maas ◽  
Marcella L. Woud ◽  
Ger P.J. Keijsers ◽  
Mike Rinck ◽  
Eni S. Becker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Avoidance Task ◽  
Snack Foods ◽  
Single Target ◽  
Implicit Approach ◽  
Approach Avoidance ◽  
The One ◽  
Salty Snack ◽  
Affective Associations ◽  
Action Tendencies

The present study investigated implicit approach-avoidance action tendencies towards snack foods (pictorial Approach-Avoidance Task), implicit approach-avoidance associations (verbal approach-avoidance Single-Target IAT) and affective associations (verbal positive-negative Single-Target IAT) with snack foods in a group of unselected student participants (N = 83). Participants with higher BMI scores had more difficulty to avoid sweet, but not salty snack foods on the Approach-Avoidance Task. Furthermore, as shown by both Single-Target IATs, there were no significant associations between BMI on the one hand and approach-avoidance associations and positive-negative affective associations on the other hand. BMI did show a positive correlation with errors made on all tasks. The results found on the Approach-Avoidance Task suggest that not increased approach, but impaired avoidance of sweet snacks, might be related to increased BMI. However, more research is needed to further disentangle these findings.

The approach-avoidance task as an online intervention in cigarette smoking: A pilot study

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 115-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte E. Wittekind ◽  
Ansgar Feist ◽  
Brooke C. Schneider ◽  
Steffen Moritz ◽  
Anja Fritzsche
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Cigarette Smoking ◽  
Online Intervention ◽  
Avoidance Task ◽  
Approach Avoidance

Implicit approach–avoidance associations predict leisure-time exercise independently of explicit exercise motivation.

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Hannan ◽  
Robyn L. Moffitt ◽  
David L. Neumann ◽  
Eva Kemps
Keyword(s):  
Leisure Time ◽  
Exercise Motivation ◽  
Implicit Approach ◽  
Approach Avoidance

Cognitive Bias Modification bei Pathologischem Glücksspiel mithilfe einer online-basierten Approach-Avoidance Task

Suchttherapie ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (S 01) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Wittekind ◽  
J Bierbrodt ◽  
A Feist ◽  
S Moritz ◽  
I Hand
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Bias ◽  
Cognitive Bias Modification ◽  
Avoidance Task ◽  
Approach Avoidance ◽  
Bias Modification

scholarly journals Higher affective congruency in the approach-avoidance task is associated with insular deactivation to dynamic facial expressions

2021 ◽  
Vol 151 ◽  
pp. 107734
Author(s):  
Katia M. Harlé ◽  
Alan N. Simmons ◽  
Jessica Bomyea ◽  
Andrea D. Spadoni ◽  
Charles T. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Avoidance Task ◽  
Dynamic Facial Expressions ◽  
Approach Avoidance
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