Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 13, 2025

Conscious and Non-conscious Representations of Emotional Faces in Asperger's Syndrome
Published on: July 31, 2016
Social inhibition and approach-avoidance tendencies towards facial expressions
Stefanie Duijndam1, Nina Kupper1, Johan Denollet1
1CoRPS - Center of Research on Psychological and Somatic Disorders, Tilburg University, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
This study examined how different manifestations of social inhibition (behavioral inhibition, interpersonal sensitivity, and social withdrawal) are related to automatic approach/avoidance behaviors in a social context. A sample of 115 undergraduate students and 20 adults from the general population (Mage = 24.8, SD = 11.4; 75% women) were assessed with the 15-item Social Inhibition Questionnaire (SIQ15). During a facial expression version of the Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT), participants reacted to images of emotional facial expressions (angry, happy, and neutral) or to control images (neutral objects) in portrait or landscape formats by pulling a joystick towards themselves (approach) or pushing it away from themselves (avoidance). The superordinate social inhibition construct was not associated with approach/avoidance tendencies. However, individuals high in the interpersonal sensitivity domain of social inhibition showed stronger approach tendencies for happy and neutral facial expressions compared to neutral objects, which may relate to their focus on seeking the approval of others.
Related Concept Videos
Frustration and Conflict: Approach-Approach, Approach-Avoidance
One common type of conflict is the Approach–Approach Conflict. In this case, a person faces two desirable...
Facial Feedback Hypothesis
Frustration and Conflict: Avoidance-Avoidance, Double-Approach Avoidance
Causes of Social Behavior I: Actions and Characteristics of Individuals
Emotional Expression
Universal Facial Expressions
Psychologist Paul Ekman identified seven basic...
Social Anxiety Disorder

