Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Frustration and Conflict: Approach-Approach, Approach-Avoidance01:20

Frustration and Conflict: Approach-Approach, Approach-Avoidance

147
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...
147
Frustration and Conflict: Avoidance-Avoidance, Double-Approach Avoidance01:14

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

156
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...
156
Surveys02:16

Surveys

15.4K
Often, psychologists develop surveys as a means of gathering data. Surveys are lists of questions to be answered by research participants, and can be delivered as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally. Generally, the survey itself can be completed in a short time, and the ease of administering a survey makes it easy to collect data from a large number of people.
15.4K
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination02:55

Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

91.4K
Humans are very diverse and although we share many similarities, we also have many differences. The social groups we belong to help form our identities (Tajfel, 1974). These differences may be difficult for some people to reconcile, which may lead to prejudice toward people who are different. Prejudice is a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on one’s membership in a particular social group (Allport, 1954; Brown, 2010). Prejudice is common against people who...
91.4K
Self-Discrepancy Theory02:45

Self-Discrepancy Theory

18.4K
One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.  
18.4K
Preparedness and Phobias01:09

Preparedness and Phobias

149
Human fear responses to certain stimuli, such as darkness, heights, deep water, and blood, can often arise despite the absence of direct negative experiences. This phenomenon is rooted in evolutionary psychology, which posits that humans have developed a predisposition to fear stimuli that historically posed significant survival threats. This predisposition, known as preparedness, suggests that early humans who developed a fear of potentially dangerous entities, such as venomous snakes and...
149

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Timing Matters: Providing Contingency Instructions to Modify Fear Extinction Memories in Anxiety Disorders.

Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging·2026
Same author

Challenging heights: Findings from a proof-of-principle randomized controlled trial testing interpretation bias modification as an adjunct to exposure therapy for acrophobic patients.

Journal of anxiety disorders·2026
Same author

Detecting psychosis via natural language processing of social media posts: potentials and pitfalls.

Neuropsychologia·2025
Same author

Differences in conditioning using unconditioned stimuli evoking fear, disgust or both emotions simultaneously.

Behaviour research and therapy·2025
Same author

Generalization of exposure therapy: Systematic review and recommendations for future research.

Behaviour research and therapy·2025
Same author

Context-dependency of vicarious extinction learning.

Behavioural brain research·2025
Same journal

Abnormal emotional intensity processing in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis: evidence from event-related potentials.

European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience·2026
Same journal

The role of attention in perceptual biases in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder and healthy controls.

European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Effects of quetiapine on cognitive functioning in schizophrenia: evidence for the remyelination hypothesis?

European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Effects of xanomeline-trospium on the gut-lung microbiota axis and susceptibility to LPS-induced acute lung injury in male and female mice.

European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Association of the red blood cell distribution width-to-albumin ratio with incident depression and depressive symptom trajectories in older adults.

European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Major depressive disorder-alcohol use disorder comorbidity: diagnosis, mechanisms and treatment.

European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 10, 2025

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

4.0K

Measuring implicit bias in height-fearful participants with the Approach-Avoidance Task.

Kayleigh Piovesan1, Mike Rinck2,3, Armin Zlomuzica4

  • 1Department of Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience, Ruhr-University Bochum, Massenbergstraße 9-13, 44787, Bochum, Germany.

European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience
|August 22, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Fear of heights may involve biased attention. This study found that individuals with height fear showed slower responses to height-related images, indicating altered selective attention, but not implicit avoidance. Further research is needed on avoidance biases.

Keywords:
AATAcrophobiaApproach-avoidanceAttention biasAvoidance biasCognitive biasFear of heightsHeight phobiaImplicit bias

More Related Videos

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults
08:25

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults

Published on: October 19, 2014

15.4K
Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
07:34

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

17.5K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 10, 2025

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

4.0K
Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults
08:25

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults

Published on: October 19, 2014

15.4K
Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
07:34

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

17.5K

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

Background:

  • Fear of heights (acrophobia) may stem from implicit biases in attention and avoidance behaviors.
  • Understanding these biases is crucial for developing effective treatments for height phobias.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the link between fear of heights and changes in attention and approach-avoidance tendencies.
  • To examine selective attention and implicit avoidance using a height-related Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT).

Main Methods:

  • Utilized an Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT) with height-related and control images.
  • Measured participants' response times when pushing or pulling images.
  • Assessed height fear using self-report and interview-based measures.

Main Results:

  • Self-reported height avoidance correlated with slower responses to height-related images, suggesting altered selective attention.
  • Interview-based measures of height fear showed a similar pattern of altered selective attention.
  • No significant association was found between subjective height fear measures and implicit avoidance bias in the AAT.

Conclusions:

  • Findings suggest that individuals with height fear exhibit altered selective attention towards height-related stimuli.
  • The Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT) shows potential for identifying biased attentional processing in acrophobia.
  • Further investigation is required to confirm avoidance biases within the AAT for height fear.