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Related Concept Videos

Frustration and Conflict: Avoidance-Avoidance, Double-Approach Avoidance01:14

Frustration and Conflict: Avoidance-Avoidance, Double-Approach Avoidance

Avoidance-avoidance conflict refers to a psychological situation where a person must choose between two or more unpleasant alternatives. These conflicts are particularly stressful because neither option is desirable. This dilemma is often expressed in sayings like "caught between a rock and a hard place" or "between the devil and the deep blue sea." For instance, individuals who fear dental procedures may find themselves torn between enduring a painful toothache or facing the anxiety of...
Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness01:14

Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness

Avoidance learning and learned helplessness are critical concepts in understanding behavioral responses to negative stimuli.
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...
Frustration and Conflict: Approach-Approach, Approach-Avoidance01:20

Frustration and Conflict: Approach-Approach, Approach-Avoidance

Frustration occurs when people are obstructed or prevented from achieving a desired goal or fulfilling a perceived need. For example, when someone's input is ignored in a discussion, it can lead to feelings of frustration. Conflict, however, arises from opposing interests, goals, or actions. Conflicts can take various forms based on the nature of these opposing desires or goals.
One common type of conflict is the Approach–Approach Conflict. In this case, a person faces two desirable options,...
Cognitive Theories: Lazarus Mediational Theory of Emotion01:17

Cognitive Theories: Lazarus Mediational Theory of Emotion

Richard Lazarus' cognitive mediational theory highlights the pivotal role of cognitive appraisal in shaping emotional responses. According to this theory, the evaluation of a stimulus — based on personal values, goals, beliefs, and expectations — mediates the emotional response. This appraisal process is immediate and often occurs unconsciously, influencing the intensity and nature of the resulting emotion.
Cognitive Appraisal and Emotional Response
Lazarus proposed that emotions are not solely...
Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping02:05

Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping

People can go to great lengths to protect their self-image and present themselves in ways that they want others to see them. Sociologist Erving Goffman presented the idea that a person is like an actor on a stage. Calling his theory dramaturgy, Goffman believed that we use “impression management” to present ourselves to others as we hope to be perceived. Each situation is a new scene, and individuals perform different roles depending on who is present (Goffman, 1959). Think about the way you...
Behavior Therapy01:22

Behavior Therapy

Behavior therapy incorporates diverse techniques rooted in classical conditioning principles to address maladaptive behaviors and anxiety disorders. These methods aim to reduce avoidance behaviors, foster adaptive coping mechanisms, and alter associations between stimuli and responses, making them effective in a wide range of therapeutic contexts.
Exposure therapy is a cornerstone of behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders. It involves systematic exposure to feared stimuli, either in real...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 14, 2026

Investigating Pain-Related Avoidance Behavior using a Robotic Arm-Reaching Paradigm
09:00

Investigating Pain-Related Avoidance Behavior using a Robotic Arm-Reaching Paradigm

Published on: October 3, 2020

Experiential avoidance and problem behavior: a mediational analysis.

Jessica Kingston1, Sue Clarke, Bob Remington

  • 1University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.

Behavior Modification
|March 24, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Problem behaviors like substance misuse and self-harm may stem from Experiential Avoidance (EA), the attempt to suppress unwanted private experiences. This study found EA links risk factors to problem behaviors, suggesting it as a key therapeutic target.

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 14, 2026

Investigating Pain-Related Avoidance Behavior using a Robotic Arm-Reaching Paradigm
09:00

Investigating Pain-Related Avoidance Behavior using a Robotic Arm-Reaching Paradigm

Published on: October 3, 2020

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Problem behaviors, such as substance misuse, binge eating, and self-harm, often appear distinct but may share underlying psychological functions.
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) posits that Experiential Avoidance (EA) is a common function, defined as the process of avoiding or altering unwanted private experiences and their associated contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether the covariance of various problem behaviors is associated with EA.
  • To determine if EA mediates the relationship between known risk factors (childhood trauma, negative affect intensity) and the propensity for problem behaviors.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study utilizing Structural Equation Modeling.
  • Data collected from a clinical sample of 290 participants.
  • Examined the association between problem behavior covariance and EA, and the mediating role of EA in linking risk factors to problem behaviors.

Main Results:

  • Experiential Avoidance was found to contribute significantly to the covariation observed among different problem behaviors.
  • EA fully mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and problem behaviors.
  • EA also fully mediated the relationship between negative affect intensity and problem behaviors.

Conclusions:

  • Experiential Avoidance may serve as a unifying mechanism underlying diverse problem behaviors.
  • Targeting EA in therapeutic interventions could be crucial for managing individuals exhibiting a range of behavioral problems.
  • Findings support EA as a central process in understanding and treating maladaptive behaviors.