scholarly journals The Action Dynamics of Approach-Avoidance Conflict in Decision-Making: A mouse-tracking study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santiago Garcia-Guerrero ◽  
Denis O'Hora ◽  
Arkady Zgonnikov ◽  
Stefan Scherbaum
Keyword(s):  
Time Course ◽  
Mouse Tracking ◽  
Approach And Avoidance ◽  
Response Options ◽  
Shortest Route ◽  
Dynamic Resolution ◽  
Action Dynamics ◽  
Aversive Consequence ◽  
Approach Avoidance ◽  
Continuous Dynamic

Approach-avoidance conflict is observed in the competing motivations towards the benefits and away from the costs of a decision. The current study employs the action dynamics of response motion, via mouse-tracking, in an attempt to characterize the continuous dynamic resolution of such conflicts. Approach-avoidance conflict (AAC) was generated by varying the appetitive consequences of a decision (i.e., point rewards and shorter participation time) in the presence of a simultaneous aversive consequence (i.e., shock probability). In two experiments, we found that AAC differentially affected response trajectories. Overall, approach trajectories were less complex than avoidance trajectories. As approach and avoidance motivations neared equipotentiality, response trajectories were more deflected from the shortest route to the eventual choice. Consistency in the location of approach and avoidance response options reduced variability in performance enabling more sensitive estimates of dynamic conflict. The time course of competing influences on response trajectories including trial-to-trial effects and conflict between approach and avoidance were estimated using regression analyses. We discuss these findings in terms of a dynamic theory of approach-avoidance that we hope will lead to insights of practical relevance in the field of maladaptive avoidance.

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.

Associations between social control, motivation, and exercise: How romantic partners influence exercise during young adulthood

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (10) ◽  
pp. 1425-1435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany L Berzins ◽  
Judith Gere ◽  
Scout M Kelly ◽  
John A Updegraff
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Social Control ◽  
Young Adulthood ◽  
Romantic Partners ◽  
Romantic Partner ◽  
Approach And Avoidance ◽  
Control Motivation ◽  
Approach Avoidance ◽  
Exercise Motives ◽  
And Behavior

This study investigated whether positive and negative romantic partner social control attempts (persuasion and pressure, respectively) were related to approach-avoidance motives and exercise among young adults ( N = 98), using daily reports. Daily persuasion was linked to higher daily approach motives. At the person level, persuasion was associated with higher approach and avoidance motives in addition to more frequent, longer exercise. Pressure was associated with higher daily relationship stress, which was associated with higher daily avoidance motives. At the person level, pressure was related to less frequent, shorter exercise. Thus, romantic partners’ social control use correlates with exercise motives and behavior.

Person Memory Mechanism Underlying Approach and Avoidance Judgments of Social Targets

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 747-772
Author(s):  
Allison M. Sklenar ◽  
Matthew P. McCurdy ◽  
Andrea N. Frankenstein ◽  
Matt Motyl ◽  
Eric D. Leshikar
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Negative Information ◽  
Cognitive Factors ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Judgments ◽  
Approach And Avoidance ◽  
Memory Mechanism ◽  
Person Memory ◽  
Approach Avoidance

People display approach and avoidance tendencies toward social targets. Although much research has studied the factors that affect decisions to approach or avoid targets, less work has investigated whether cognitive factors, such as episodic memory (e.g., details remembered about others from previous encounters) contribute to such judgments. Across two experiments, participants formed positive or negative impressions of targets based on their picture, a trait-implying behavior (Experiments 1 & 2), and their political ideology (conservative or liberal; Experiment 2). Memory and approach/avoidance decisions for targets were then measured. Results showed remembering negative impressions about targets increased avoidance responses, whereas remembering positive impressions increased approach responses. Strikingly, falsely remembering negative impressions for novel social targets (not seen before) also induced avoidance. Results suggest remembering negative information about targets, whether correctly or falsely, strongly influences future social judgments. Overall, these data support an episodic memory mechanism underlying subsequent approach/avoidance judgments, which is a rich area for future research.

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

Sexual Abuse ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 781-802 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Correction to: Validating mouse-tracking: How design factors influence action dynamics in intertemporal decision making

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 446-446
Author(s):  
Martin Schoemann ◽  
Malte Lüken ◽  
Tobias Grage ◽  
Pascal J. Kieslich ◽  
Stefan Scherbaum
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Mouse Tracking ◽  
Action Dynamics ◽  
Design Factors

scholarly journals Lost to translation: How design factors of the mouse-tracking procedure impact the inference from action to cognition

2019 ◽  
Vol 81 (7) ◽  
pp. 2538-2557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Grage ◽  
Martin Schoemann ◽  
Pascal J. Kieslich ◽  
Stefan Scherbaum
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Response Selection ◽  
Simon Task ◽  
Mouse Tracking ◽  
Cognitive States ◽  
Mouse Cursor ◽  
Movement Strategies ◽  
Action Dynamics ◽  
Design Factors ◽  
Careful Design

Abstract From an embodiment perspective, action and cognition influence each other constantly. This interaction has been utilized in mouse-tracking studies to infer cognitive states from movements, assuming a continuous manifestation of cognitive processing into movement. However, it is mostly unknown how this manifestation is affected by the variety of possible design choices in mouse-tracking paradigms. Here we studied how three design factors impact the manifestation of cognition into movement in a Simon task with mouse tracking. We varied the response selection (i.e., with or without clicking), the ratio between hand and mouse cursor movement, and the location of the response boxes. The results show that all design factors can blur or even prevent the manifestation of cognition into movement, as reflected by a reduction in movement consistency and action dynamics, as well as by the adoption of unsuitable movement strategies. We conclude that deliberate and careful design choices in mouse-tracking experiments are crucial to ensuring a continuous manifestation of cognition in movement. We discuss the importance of developing a standard practice in the design of mouse-tracking experiments.

scholarly journals Delayed processing in accented speech: Evidence from a mouse-tracking experiment

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Page Elizabeth Piccinini ◽  
Alejandrina Cristia
Keyword(s):  
Target Word ◽  
Optimal Strategy ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Prior Experience ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Mouse Tracking ◽  
Accented Speech ◽  
Accent Perception ◽  
Forced Choice Task ◽  
Main Effects

Previous work shows that listeners use the phonetic signal to predict upcoming information, including adaptation to accent-specific phonological structures. This study assesses whether this response is optimal by studying the time course and specificity of adaptation as native French listeners are presented with English-accented French samples in a cross-modal two-alternative forced choice task. There were four types of trials, depending on whether the spoken target word contained a sound replaced in English-accented speech with a different phoneme; and whether this pronunciation rendered the choice temporarily ambiguous or not. If listeners follow an optimal strategy, one predicts an interaction between both terms, with slower responses for words with replaced phonemes only when the replacement rendered the target temporarily ambiguous. Instead, we found main effects of both factors. Thus, it appears that adult listeners did not adopt the strategy that would have been informationally optimal. This result could be due to prior experience with the accent employed, and specific difficulties with replaced phonemes, despite knowledge of the accent. We discuss results in the broader context of accent perception research, bearing on the (speaker- and contrast-)specificity of listener adaptation as well as the variability in results potentially due to the task, accent, and materials employed.

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

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.

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

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.

scholarly journals Posture as index for approach-avoidance behavior

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Eerland ◽  
Tulio M. Guadalupe ◽  
Ingmar H.A. Franken ◽  
Rolf Antonius Zwaan
Keyword(s):  
Avoidance Behavior ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Lateral Movement ◽  
Approach And Avoidance ◽  
Posterior Direction ◽  
Approach Avoidance ◽  
The Right ◽  
Balance Board ◽  
Anterior Posterior

Approach and avoidance are two behavioral responses that make people tend to approach positive and avoid negative situations. This study examines whether postural behavior is influenced by the affective state of pictures. While standing on the Wii™ Balance Board, participants viewed pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant pictures (passively viewing phase). Then they had to move their body to the left or the right (lateral movement phase) to make the next picture appear. We recorded movements in the anterior-posterior direction to examine approach and avoidant behavior. During passively viewing, people approached pleasant pictures. They avoided unpleasant ones while they made a lateral movement. These findings provide support for the idea that we tend to approach positive and avoid negative situations.

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