Dessert Approach Avoidance Task

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.

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Die implizite Selbstregulation am Beispiel des Essverhaltens: Konsequenzen für die Psychotherapie

PPmP - Psychotherapie · Psychosomatik · Medizinische Psychologie ◽

10.1055/a-0845-9439 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 69 (11) ◽

pp. 453-461

Author(s):

Georgios Paslakis ◽

Martina de Zwaan

Keyword(s):

Avoidance Task ◽

Approach Avoidance

ZusammenfassungExplizite Prozesse der Selbstregulation sind mit Introspektion und Einsicht verbunden und werden deswegen häufig als mühevoll erlebt, während implizite Prozesse der Steuerung des Selbst automatisiert, schnell und mühelos ablaufen. Allerdings ist Selbstregulation nicht stets entweder explizit oder implizit; alle Varianten zwischen völlig automatisiert bis hin zu völlig kontrolliert sind vorhanden. Implizite Prozesse sind im Vergleich zu expliziten Prozessen enger mit verkörperten, affektnahen -im Gegensatz zu kognitiven, verbalisierbaren- Erfahrungen verbunden, sodass es denkbar ist, dass zur Ermittlung impliziten Erlebens Methoden zum Einsatz kommen, die den Körper miteinbeziehen bzw. den Körper in einen Zustand überführen, in dem die Wahrnehmung impliziten Geschehens ermöglicht werden kann. Zudem besteht in der Psychotherapie die Notwendigkeit für die Implementierung von neurobiologisch begründeten Methoden, die auf einer impliziten, prä-verbalen Ebene ansetzen. Einige Paradigmen dazu, u. a. der sogenannte approach-avoidance task (AAT) zur Erfassung impliziter Handlungsregulation sind bereits in Erprobung. Derartige Paradigmen werden hier am Beispiel der Regulation des Essverhaltens vorgestellt. Bei der vorliegenden Arbeit handelt es sich um eine narrative (qualitative) Übersicht, die das Ziel verfolgt, über Entwicklungen auf dem Gebiet der Forschung zu impliziten Bias und die Entwicklung von neuartigen, noch experimentell eingesetzten Instrumenten im Rahmen künftiger psychotherapeutischer Behandlungen zu informieren. Zu diesem Zweck wurde eine Auswahl von relevanten Studien nach subjektiven Kriterien der Autoren getroffen. Es handelt sich somit nicht um eine lückenlose Darstellung der Studienlage zu impliziten Bias im Sinne eines systematischen Reviews.

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Acute aerobic exercise increases implicit approach motivation for dessert images

Journal of Health Psychology ◽

10.1177/1359105316657404 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 23 (6) ◽

pp. 807-817 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

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.

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The processing of task-irrelevant emotion and colour in the Approach-Avoidance Task

Cognition & Emotion ◽

10.1080/02699931.2018.1497951 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 548-562

Author(s):

Xijia Luo ◽

Mike Rinck ◽

Harold Bekkering ◽

Eni S. Becker

Keyword(s):

Avoidance Task ◽

Approach Avoidance ◽

Task Irrelevant

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Approach and Avoidance Tendencies Toward Picture Stimuli of (Pre-)Pubescent Children and Adults: An Investigation in Pedophilic and Nonpedophilic Samples

Sexual Abuse ◽

10.1177/1079063217697134 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 30 (7) ◽

pp. 781-802 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

K. Weidacker ◽

C. Kärgel ◽

C. Massau ◽

S. Weiß ◽

J. Kneer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Binary Logistic Regression ◽

Cognitive Capacity ◽

Avoidance Reaction ◽

Stimulus Category ◽

Avoidance Task ◽

Approach And Avoidance ◽

Picture Stimuli ◽

Approach Avoidance ◽

Sexual Interests

The presence of pedophilic sexual interests is considered of high importance for predicting recidivism among individuals who have committed sexual offenses. However, objective and valid assessment methods that are robust against confounding issues such as cognitive capacity and manipulation are sparse. We applied the Approach–Avoidance Task (AAT) for detecting sexual interests in 38 pedophilic men (18 primarily attracted to boys) and 27 male nonpedophilic (11 gay) participants. The AAT relies on automatic approach and avoidance tendencies, independent of cognitive abilities such as memory capacity and intelligence. Approach–avoidance tendencies toward stimuli depicting seminude prepubescent boys and girls as well as men and women are reported. The results were consistent with previous research on the utility of the AAT: Except for pedophiles attracted to girls, the mean AAT scores (approach minus avoidance reaction time for each stimulus category) were positive only for stimuli of the preferred category. A multivariate binary logistic regression approach revealed 80% overall accuracy in differentiating pedophilic from nonpedophilic participants.

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Improving the touchscreen-based food approach-avoidance task: remediated block-order effects and initial findings regarding validity

Open Research Europe ◽

10.12688/openreseurope.13241.2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 15

Author(s):

Hannah van Alebeek ◽

Sercan Kahveci ◽

Jens Blechert

Keyword(s):

Order Effects ◽

Avoidance Task ◽

Eating Patterns ◽

Eating Behaviours ◽

Approach And Avoidance ◽

Implicit Association Task ◽

External Eating ◽

Approach Avoidance ◽

The Individual ◽

Desire To Eat

Approach biases to foods may explain why food consumption often diverges from deliberate dietary intentions. Yet, the assessment of behavioural biases with the approach-avoidance tasks (AAT) is often unreliable and validity is partially unclear. The present study continues a series of studies that develop a task based on naturalistic approach and avoidance movements on a touchscreen (hand-AAT). In the hand-AAT, participants are instructed to respond based on the food/non-food distinction, thereby ensuring attention to the stimuli. Yet, this implies the use of instruction switches (i.e., ‘approach food – avoid objects’ to ‘avoid food – approach objects’), which introduce order effects. The present study increased the number of instruction switches to potentially minimize order effects, and re-examined reliability. We additionally included the implicit association task (IAT) and several self-reported eating behaviours to investigate the task’s validity. Results replicated the presence of reliable approach biases to foods irrespective of instruction order. Evidence for validity, however, was mixed: biases correlated positively with external eating, increase in food craving and aggregated image valence ratings but not with desire to eat ratings of the individual images considered within participants or the IAT. We conclude that the hand-AAT can reliably assess approach biases to foods that are relevant to self-reported eating patterns.

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Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Activity and Sympathetic Allostasis During Value-Based Ambivalence

Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnbeh.2021.615796 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

Author(s):

Neil M. Dundon ◽

Allison D. Shapiro ◽

Viktoriya Babenko ◽

Gold N. Okafor ◽

Scott T. Grafton

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Time Scales ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Parallel Imaging ◽

Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Avoidance Task ◽

Cortical Input ◽

Approach Avoidance

Anxiety is characterized by low confidence in daily decisions, coupled with high levels of phenomenological stress. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) plays an integral role in maladaptive anxious behaviors via decreased sensitivity to threatening vs. non-threatening stimuli (fear generalization). vmPFC is also a key node in approach-avoidance decision making requiring two-dimensional integration of rewards and costs. More recently, vmPFC has been implicated as a key cortical input to the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. However, little is known about the role of this brain region in mediating rapid stress responses elicited by changes in confidence during decision making. We used an approach-avoidance task to examine the relationship between sympathetically mediated cardiac stress responses, vmPFC activity and choice behavior over long and short time-scales. To do this, we collected concurrent fMRI, EKG and impedance cardiography recordings of sympathetic drive while participants made approach-avoidance decisions about monetary rewards paired with painful electric shock stimuli. We observe first that increased sympathetic drive (shorter pre-ejection period) in states lasting minutes are associated with choices involving reduced decision ambivalence. Thus, on this slow time scale, sympathetic drive serves as a proxy for “mobilization” whereby participants are more likely to show consistent value-action mapping. In parallel, imaging analyses reveal that on shorter time scales (estimated with a trial-to-trial GLM), increased vmPFC activity, particularly during low-ambivalence decisions, is associated with decreased sympathetic state. Our findings support a role of sympathetic drive in resolving decision ambivalence across long time horizons and suggest a potential role of vmPFC in modulating this response on a moment-to-moment basis.

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