scholarly journals Self-reported mask-related worrying reduces relative avoidance bias toward unmasked faces in individuals with low Covid19 anxiety syndrome

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anand Krishna ◽  
Johannes Rodrigues ◽  
Vanessa Mitschke ◽  
Andreas B. Eder
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Avoidance Task ◽  
Social Approach ◽  
Aesthetic Appeal ◽  
Online Study ◽  
Interaction Styles ◽  
Approach Avoidance ◽  
Implicit And Explicit ◽  
Mask Effectiveness

AbstractFacial masks have become and may remain ubiquitous. Though important for preventing infection, they may also serve as a reminder of the risks of disease. Thus, they may either act as cues for threat, priming avoidance-related behavior, or as cues for a safe interaction, priming social approach. To distinguish between these possibilities, we assessed implicit and explicit evaluations of masked individuals as well as avoidance bias toward relatively unsafe interactions with unmasked individuals in an approach-avoidance task in an online study. We further assessed Covid19 anxiety and specific attitudes toward mask-wearing, including mask effectiveness and desirability, hindrance of communication from masks, aesthetic appeal of masks, and mask-related worrying. Across one sample of younger (18–35 years, N = 147) and one of older adults (60+ years, N = 150), we found neither an average approach nor avoidance bias toward mask-wearing compared to unmasked individuals in the indirect behavior measurement task. However, across the combined sample, self-reported mask-related worrying correlated with reduced avoidance tendencies toward unmasked individuals when Covid19 anxiety was low, but not when it was high. This relationship was specific to avoidance tendencies and was not observed in respect to explicit or implicit preference for mask-wearing individuals. We conclude that unsafe interaction styles may be reduced by targeting mask-related worrying with public interventions, in particular for populations that otherwise have low generalized Covid19 anxiety.

scholarly journals Does testosterone affect emotional perception after social approach-avoidance?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sina Radke ◽  
Inge Volman ◽  
Pranjal Mehta ◽  
Veerle van Son ◽  
Dorien Enter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Avoidance Task ◽  
Threat Detection ◽  
Social Approach ◽  
Approach And Avoidance ◽  
Amygdala Activation ◽  
Emotional Perception ◽  
The Social ◽  
Testosterone Administration ◽  
Approach Avoidance ◽  
Threat Avoidance

Testosterone may promote approach-related behaviors by modulating sensitivity to social threat. In humans, testosterone increases amygdala activation to angry facial expressions, specifically when threat approach is required. As both increased and decreased threat detection after testosterone administration have been reported, we aim to contribute to the discussion by sharing additional results, i.e., perception ratings, from our previously published findings. Here, a single dose of 0.5 mg of testosterone increased amygdala activation during threat approach, and decreased it during threat avoidance. After the MRI session, about 5 hours post-administration, participants rated their emotional perception of the faces to which they had made approach and avoidance actions in the social approach-avoidance task.

Instruction-Based Approach-Avoidance Effects

2015 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieter Van Dessel ◽  
Jan De Houwer ◽  
Anne Gast ◽  
Colin Tucker Smith
Keyword(s):  
Implicit Association Test ◽  
Avoidance Training ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Implicit Association ◽  
Approach And Avoidance ◽  
Evaluative Priming ◽  
Blacks And Whites ◽  
Approach Avoidance ◽  
Implicit And Explicit ◽  
Explicit Measures

Prior research suggests that repeatedly approaching or avoiding a certain stimulus changes the liking of this stimulus. We investigated whether these effects of approach and avoidance training occur also when participants do not perform these actions but are merely instructed about the stimulus-action contingencies. Stimulus evaluations were registered using both implicit (Implicit Association Test and evaluative priming) and explicit measures (valence ratings). Instruction-based approach-avoidance effects were observed for relatively neutral fictitious social groups (i.e., Niffites and Luupites), but not for clearly valenced well-known social groups (i.e., Blacks and Whites). We conclude that instructions to approach or avoid stimuli can provide sufficient bases for establishing both implicit and explicit evaluations of novel stimuli and discuss several possible reasons for why similar instruction-based approach-avoidance effects were not found for valenced well-known stimuli.

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

Dessert Approach Avoidance Task

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine N. May ◽  
James Juergensen ◽  
Heath A. Demaree
Keyword(s):  
Avoidance Task ◽  
Approach Avoidance

scholarly journals Informant Personality Is Associated With Ratings of Memory Problems in Older Adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 479-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Buchanan ◽  
Catherine Loveday
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Rating Scales ◽  
Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Online Study ◽  
Memory Complaints ◽  
Memory Problems ◽  
Scale Reliability ◽  
Memory Measure ◽  
Diagnostic Criterion

Memory complaints are a key diagnostic criterion for dementia and mild cognitive impairment. Rating scales can be used to capture information about individuals’ memory problems from informants such as family members. However, problems with scale reliability suggest that individual differences influence the ratings informants provide. This project tested whether informants’ neuroticism was associated with their ratings of an older adult’s memory. In an online study, 293 volunteers completed a Five-Factor Personality Questionnaire and used 2 memory questionnaires to provide ratings of memory problems in an older individual they knew well. Rater neuroticism correlated positively with estimates of memory problems: More neurotic informants provided higher estimates of memory difficulties in the person they were rating. A second study replicated this finding with 786 volunteers and another widely used memory measure, the AD8. In both studies, exploratory analyses suggested the effect size was large enough to impact on clinical practice.

Rising above It: Status Ambivalence in Older Adults

Gerontology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 576-588
Author(s):  
Deirdre A. Robertson ◽  
David Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Protective Mechanism ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Social ◽  
Implicit And Explicit

Background: Social status is the standing of a person or group in the social hierarchy, and is perceived to change across the life span from low social status in early life, to peak in midlife, and to a decline thereafter. As threats to subjective social status are known to be detrimental to individuals’ health, it is important to better understand how older adults perceive themselves and others in terms of age-related social status. Objective: We examined status ambivalence – the potential discrepancy between how older adults’ perceive social status for themselves compared to older adults in general. Method: Study 1 used qualitative data from 37 semi-structured interviews with older adults to assess perceptions of social status. Study 2 used quantitative survey data from 114 older adults who completed explicit and implicit measures of social status. Results: Study 1 (n = 37, meanage = 71.72, SDage = 5.69; 81.1% women) provided preliminary evidence for status ambivalence such that older adults reported unequivocal low social status for other older adults but a more ambivalent perception of their own social status. Study 2 (n = 114, meanage = 64.32, SDage = 8.98, 57.9% women) compared implicit and explicit measures of social status revealing that older adults consistently perceive older adults to have low social status but again show a more ambivalent perception of their own social status. Conclusion: We discuss status ambivalence as a potential protective mechanism in the context of negative societal perceptions of age-related social status that may be important for well-being in later life.

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.

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