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To examine the development and persistence of multiple physical symptoms (MPS) over a decade including the associations with sociodemographics and coping strategies. A longitudinal study of 16,405 individuals aged 20–64 years participating in the Danish Symptom Cohort (DaSC) was conducted in 2012 with follow-up data in 2022 (DaSC II). MPS were assessed according to the unifying diagnostic construct of bodily distress syndrome, and coping was measured with the Brief Approach/Avoidance Coping Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. Among individuals not having MPS in 2012, 17 % had developed MPS in 2022. Among individuals having MPS in 2012, 57 % had persistence of MPS in 2022. Individuals who developed or had persistence of MPS at follow-up were more likely to be female, have lower educational level, be immigrant, redeem antidepressants, have lower approach scores as well as higher diversion and resignation scores. Individuals responding to stressful situations with low approach, high diversion, and high resignation may be at higher risk of developing MPS and have persistence of MPS. As coping can be targeted through psychotherapy, it is important to focus on maladaptive strategies, especially in high-risk groups for developing and maintaining MPS. • 57 % had multiple physical symptoms (MPS) at both baseline and 10-year follow-up. • One in six individuals who did not have MPS at baseline, had MPS after 10 years. • High approach decreased the odds of developing and maintaining MPS. • High diversion and resignation increased the odds of developing and maintaining MPS. • ... together with being female, immigrant, less educated, and redeeming antidepressants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infant faces are generally perceived as being cute and motivate the observer to look at them longer. This phenomenon is thought to be based on elemental features called baby schema (e.g., a round face and a large forehead). This study investigated the behavioral tendencies of observers in approaching infant faces using a manikin task in which infant and adult face images were presented as stimuli. Participants (N = 40) were instructed to identify with the manikin, discriminate a face on the screen, and respond by moving the manikin closer to the face (approach trials) or farther away from it (avoidance trials). The faces were presented either upright or inverted. The results showed that the approach–avoidance indices (the mean reaction time and error rate of avoidance trials minus those of approach trials) were larger for infant faces than for adult faces regardless of face orientation, although the difference was greater for upright faces than for inverted faces. This approach tendency toward infant faces is possibly due to elemental features rather than face‐specific holistic features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human beings perceive the emotions of others through various cues, such as facial expressions, voice, and bodily posture. These social signals have been acquired evolutionarily, and reports suggest that emotions are recognized to some extent in a culturally universal pattern. It has also been suggested that an observer's approach or avoidance responses toward the expressor occur at the initial stage of emotion perception. However, such approach–avoidance reactions have hitherto been examined mainly in response to facial expressions and not bodily postures. Therefore, this study examined approach–avoidance responses to anger and fear as visualized through facial expressions and bodily postures. The study sample comprised 58 university students. The results showed that, as in a previous study, approach responses to fear and avoidance responses to anger were dominant in both facial expression and bodily posture conditions. This suggests that bodily posture and facial expression are social signals that can elicit an approach–avoidance response from the observer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We identified and tested a novel aspect of human resilience: The daily pursuit of maintenance goals. Taking inspiration from archaeological records, which point at routinized cultural practices as a central resilience factor, we tested whether personal routine practices, governed by maintenance goals, serve a similar function to individuals as traditional practices do to societies. Namely, we hypothesized that maintenance striving increases individuals' resilient responses to stressful events. Confirming this prediction, a longitudinal Study 1 showed that maintenance striving but not avoidance striving, predicted subsequent increases in well‐being following the third wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic in Germany. Study 2 confirmed our predictions on trait resilience and maintenance versus avoidance motivations in the household and relationship life domains in cross‐sectional data. These studies contribute to the understanding of resilience by demonstrating the benefits of maintenance goals for both situational and trait‐level resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infant faces are generally perceived as being cute and motivate the observer to look at them longer. This phenomenon is thought to be based on elemental features called baby schema (e.g., a round face and a large forehead). This study investigated the behavioral tendencies of observers in approaching infant faces using a manikin task in which infant and adult face images were presented as stimuli. Participants (N = 40) were instructed to identify with the manikin, discriminate a face on the screen, and respond by moving the manikin closer to the face (approach trials) or farther away from it (avoidance trials). The faces were presented either upright or inverted. The results showed that the approach–avoidance indices (the mean reaction time and error rate of avoidance trials minus those of approach trials) were larger for infant faces than for adult faces regardless of face orientation, although the difference was greater for upright faces than for inverted faces. This approach tendency toward infant faces is possibly due to elemental features rather than face‐specific holistic features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human beings perceive the emotions of others through various cues, such as facial expressions, voice, and bodily posture. These social signals have been acquired evolutionarily, and reports suggest that emotions are recognized to some extent in a culturally universal pattern. It has also been suggested that an observer's approach or avoidance responses toward the expressor occur at the initial stage of emotion perception. However, such approach–avoidance reactions have hitherto been examined mainly in response to facial expressions and not bodily postures. Therefore, this study examined approach–avoidance responses to anger and fear as visualized through facial expressions and bodily postures. The study sample comprised 58 university students. The results showed that, as in a previous study, approach responses to fear and avoidance responses to anger were dominant in both facial expression and bodily posture conditions. This suggests that bodily posture and facial expression are social signals that can elicit an approach–avoidance response from the observer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interoception, the representation of our bodily state derived from physiological signals, is fundamental to our sense of self. Previous studies using cardiac feedback paradigms demonstrated interoceptive effects on self-perception. However, it remains unclear whether interoceptive information can extend selfattribution to non-bodily objects. This study aimed to elucidate whether cardiac signals can induce self-attribution to non-bodily objects and how interoceptive accuracy modulates this effect. A total of 44 male volunteers participated in an emotion assignment task where they viewed images of palms (bodily targets) and spheres (non-bodily targets) flashing in or out of sync with their heartbeat and assigned emotional images (positive/negative) to these targets. A heartbeat discrimination task was used to measure the interoceptive accuracy. The results showed no significant effect of synchronisation on emotion assignment for either the target type or the valence of the emotional images. However, participants with high interoceptive accuracy attributed both positive and negative images more to synchronised targets than those with low interoceptive accuracy. These findings suggest that although cardiac synchronisation may not uniformly facilitate the self-attribution of external objects, interoceptive accuracy may mediate attention to synchrony. Future studies should explore the conditions under which cardiac signals influence self-attribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract How people experience nature influences their attitudes and actions towards it. Having had a negative encounter with an animal may facilitate avoidance and freezing responses which may encourage negative feelings towards it and the environment in which it is found. Animals associated with fear, such as snakes, are often the victims of hunting and killing, possibly in part due to an overperception of their inherent danger. Past research has shown that fear affects approach–avoidance response at both the preparatory and executive stages of movement. However, the way one reacts to different threats may also depend on its proximity and how fearful one is of that specific threat. We employed a mouse‐tracking paradigm where participants (N = 40) categorized pictures of threatening and non‐threatening animals (snakes and butterflies respectively). The picture could appear at the middle, top or bottom of the screen. Participants initiated the movement from the centre of the screen and the category labels appeared on the top of the screen. Participants therefore had to either move towards the picture on the top or move away from the picture (presented centrally or at the bottom). Participants were split into fearful and non‐fearful groups based on self‐report snake fear. Non‐fearful participants were generally slower when a threat was present. But, in the fearful group, we found longer movement initiation times for central threats and shorter initiation times for off‐centre threats (compared to neutral targets). Fearful participants were also slower to initiate movement when moving away from the threat, but faster when moving towards it (compared to neutral targets). The slower start and execution may be due to the lack of active planning and/or may imply the presence of a passive temporary freezing response. Strong negative emotions towards nature and animals serve as crucial factors both in animal phobias and anti‐animal behaviours (i.e. the purposeful decimation of certain species). Understanding the action dynamics of approach–avoid behaviours in response to threatening animals may help to inform both the prevention and treatment of phobias, and relatedly, the promotion of conservationist endeavours. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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The article introduces the "SpiDa" dataset, which contains self-report questionnaires and ratings of spider images from individuals with spider phobia. Spider phobia is a common specific phobia, particularly in females, and can negatively impact quality of life. The dataset offers valuable insights into understanding and treating spider phobia, including subjective levels of fear, disgust, and willingness to approach spiders. The article explains the data collection methods and provides a codebook with descriptive statistics. This resource is useful for researchers investigating fear of spiders and related topics, although it has some limitations. The study was conducted ethically and received funding from various sources. [Extracted from the article]

Foraging decisions involve assessing potential risks and prioritizing food sources, which can be challenging when confronted with changing and conflicting circumstances. A crucial aspect of this decision-making process is the ability to actively overcome defensive reactions to threats and focus on achieving specific goals. The ventral pallidum (VP) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) are two brain regions that play key roles in regulating behavior motivated by either rewards or threats. However, it is unclear whether these regions are necessary in decision-making processes involving competing motivational drives during conflict. Our aim was to investigate the requirements of the VP and BLA for foraging choices in conflicts involving overcoming defensive responses. Here, we used a novel foraging task and pharmacological techniques to inactivate either the VP or BLA or to disconnect these brain regions before conducting a conflict test in male rats. Our findings showed that BLA is necessary for making risky choices during conflicts, whereas VP is necessary for invigorating the drive to obtain food, regardless of the presence of conflict. Importantly, our research revealed that the connection between VP and BLA is critical in controlling risky food-seeking choices during conflict situations. This study provides a new perspective on the collaborative function of VP and BLA in driving behavior, aimed at achieving goals in the face of dangers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical understanding of first impressions from faces has been closely associated with the proposal that rapid approach–avoidance decisions are needed during social interactions. Nevertheless, experimental work has rarely examined first impressions of people who are actually moving—instead extrapolating from photographic images. In six experiments, we describe the relationship between social attributions (dominance and trustworthiness) and the motion and apparent intent of a perceived person. We first show strong correspondence between judgments of photos and avatars of the same people (Experiment 1). Avatars were rated as more dominant and trustworthy when walking toward the viewer than when stationary (Experiment 2). Furthermore, avatars approaching the viewer were rated as more dominant than those avoiding (walking past) the viewer, or remaining stationary (Experiment 3). Trustworthiness was increased by movement, but not affected by approaching/avoiding paths. Surprisingly, dominance ratings increased both when avatars were approaching and being approached (Experiments 4–6), independently of agency. However, diverging movement (moving backward) reduced dominance ratings—again independently of agency (Experiment 6). These results demonstrate the close link between dominance judgments and approach and show the updatable nature of first impressions—their formation depended on the immediate dynamic context in a more subtle manner than previously suggested. Public Significance Statement: Prior research demonstrates that we form first impressions from brief exposures to faces and that these impressions can influence our subsequent behavior in meaningful ways. However, the preponderance of evidence on this topic comes from studies using static photographs. Here we use animated avatars to investigate the effects of movement on first impressions. We find that movement alone increases impressions of trustworthiness while specifically approach-related movement increases impressions of dominance. Together these data demonstrate that theories of first impressions should accommodate for their dynamic and flexible nature, even within the first seconds of exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How people experience nature influences their attitudes and actions towards it. Having had a negative encounter with an animal may facilitate avoidance and freezing responses which may encourage negative feelings towards it and the environment in which it is found. Animals associated with fear, such as snakes, are often the victims of hunting and killing, possibly in part due to an overperception of their inherent danger.Past research has shown that fear affects approach–avoidance response at both the preparatory and executive stages of movement. However, the way one reacts to different threats may also depend on its proximity and how fearful one is of that specific threat.We employed a mouse‐tracking paradigm where participants (N = 40) categorized pictures of threatening and non‐threatening animals (snakes and butterflies respectively). The picture could appear at the middle, top or bottom of the screen. Participants initiated the movement from the centre of the screen and the category labels appeared on the top of the screen. Participants therefore had to either move towards the picture on the top or move away from the picture (presented centrally or at the bottom). Participants were split into fearful and non‐fearful groups based on self‐report snake fear.Non‐fearful participants were generally slower when a threat was present. But, in the fearful group, we found longer movement initiation times for central threats and shorter initiation times for off‐centre threats (compared to neutral targets). Fearful participants were also slower to initiate movement when moving away from the threat, but faster when moving towards it (compared to neutral targets). The slower start and execution may be due to the lack of active planning and/or may imply the presence of a passive temporary freezing response.Strong negative emotions towards nature and animals serve as crucial factors both in animal phobias and anti‐animal behaviours (i.e. the purposeful decimation of certain species). Understanding the action dynamics of approach–avoid behaviours in response to threatening animals may help to inform both the prevention and treatment of phobias, and relatedly, the promotion of conservationist endeavours. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research shows that sensitivity to interoceptive sensitivity is associated with a more granular experience of emotions. These studies suggest that individuals sensitive to their interoceptive signals can better perceive somatic physiological changes as compared to their counterparts. Therefore, they discriminate among a wide and subtle range of emotions. Further, the perception of others' emotions could be based on our own emotional experiences. However, whether interoceptive sensitivity is related to the perception of others' emotions remains unclear. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between interoceptive sensitivity and emotional perception. Considering the model that emotion perception comprises two processes, categorization of facial expressions and approach–avoidance responses, this study examined both categorizations of facial expressions and approach–avoidance responses. The results showed no relationship between interoceptive sensitivity and the perception of emotion, which suggests that interoceptive sensitivity is related to the experience of emotion but does not affect the granularity of emotional perception. Future studies should diversely and empirically examine the role of the body in emotional perception from the perspective of interoceptive sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harmful alcohol use is a major public health issue. In‐person treatment has been hindered by the restrictions necessary during the Covid‐19 pandemic. This study examined the effects of an at‐home smartphone‐based cognitive bias modification training in heavy drinkers. Experiment 1 tested the effect of a short 20–30‐min smartphone‐based approach‐avoidance training (AAT) on image‐induced craving at a 1‐day follow‐up. Sixty‐two participants consuming 14+ units of alcohol/week were allocated to either the training or waitlist group. Experiment 2 used an updated version of the same short AAT intervention with a sample of n = 107 participants who consumed 20+ units of alcohol/week. Training effects at 1‐week follow‐up were compared to an active control group. Experiment 1 showed a significant reduction in image‐induced craving for the training group at 1‐day follow‐up. Experiment 2 found that AUDIT weekly scores were significantly reduced at 1‐week follow‐up for the training group, all the while craving for soft drinks remained unchanged. Experiment 1 served as a first proof of concept for the efficacy of the new smartphone‐based AAT training, and experiment 2 suggested that training effects on problem alcohol use hold at 1‐week follow‐up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do leaders lead in a complex environment? Leaders often rely on help from others. However, not all help is necessarily beneficial to leaders, especially when it is offered without being asked (i.e., proactive helping). Unfortunately, theory to date has failed to understand the consequences associated with leaders' receipt of proactive helping at work. To address this shortcoming, we integrate theories of approach–avoidance and challenge–hindrance to unravel how leaders respond to receipt of proactive helping at work, which enabled us to capture both favorable and unfavorable responses to receipt of proactive helping. Our results demonstrated that leaders with higher levels of approach-oriented characteristics were likely to perceive the receipt of proactive helping as more challenging and less hindering. We further found that leaders' challenge and hindrance appraisals prompt them to engage in transformational and laissez-faire leadership behaviors, respectively. Our work provides an answer to the question of why and under what conditions leaders' receipt of proactive helping results in constructive leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, approach-avoidance tendencies and visual perception biases have been increasingly studied using bistable point-light walkers (PLWs). Prior studies have found a facing-the-viewer bias when one is primed with general threat stimuli (e.g. angry faces), explained by the "error management theory", as failing to detect a threat as approaching is riskier than the opposite. Importantly, no study has explored how disease threat – linked to the behavioural immune system – might affect this bias. This study aimed to explore whether disease-signalling cues can alter how we perceive the motion direction of ambiguous PLWs. Throughout 3 experiments, participants indicated the motion direction of a bistable PLW previously primed with a control or disease-signalling stimuli – that is, face with a surgical mask (Experiment 1), sickness sound (Experiment 2), or face with a disease cue (Experiment 3). Results showed that sickness cues do not significantly modulate the perception of approach-avoidance behaviours. However, a pattern emerged in Experiments 2 and 3, suggesting that sickness stimuli led to more facing away percepts. Unlike other types of threat, this implies that disease-related threat stimuli might trigger a distinct perceptual bias, indicating a preference to avoid a possible infection source. Nonetheless, this finding warrants future investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A paradox of testosterone effects is seen in adolescents versus adults in social emotional approach‐avoidance behavior. During adolescence, high testosterone levels are associated with increased anterior prefrontal (aPFC) involvement in emotion control, whereas during adulthood this neuro‐endocrine relation is reversed. Rodent work shows that, during puberty, testosterone transitions from a neuro‐developmental to a social‐sexual activating hormone. In this study, we explored whether this functional transition is also present in human adolescents and young adults. Using a prospective longitudinal design, we investigated the role of testosterone on neural control of social emotional behavior during the transitions from middle to late adolescence and into young adulthood. Seventy‐one individuals (tested at ages 14, 17, and 20 years) performed an fMRI‐adapted approach‐avoidance (AA) task involving automatic and controlled actions in response to social emotional stimuli. In line with predictions from animal models, the effect of testosterone on aPFC engagement decreased between middle and late adolescence, and shifted into an activational role by young adulthood—impeding neural control of emotions. This change in testosterone function was accompanied by increased testosterone‐modulated amygdala reactivity. These findings qualify the testosterone‐dependent maturation of the prefrontal‐amygdala circuit supporting emotion control during the transition from middle adolescence into young adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotional dampening (blunted responses to affective stimuli or experiences) has been reported in individuals with clinical and subclinical levels of elevated blood pressure (BP). Our aim in the present study was to explore how the basic motivational systems of approach and avoidance to positively- and negatively-valenced stimuli are affected in elevated BP. High BP (n = 27) and Low BP (n = 29) participants completed an approach-avoidance task. In this task, participants pulled the joystick towards them when viewing a happy face (approach) and pushing it away when viewing an angry face (avoid) in the congruent condition, and reversed these action-to-emotion pairings in the incongruent condition. A mixed-design ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of condition, such that overall participants were faster across trials in the congruent than trials of the incongruent condition. There was also an emotion x BP interaction. Among the Low BP group, there were no RT differences to happy and angry expressions (across congruent and incongruent conditions) but those with High BP were quicker to respond to actions paired with angry than happy facial expressions (across conditions). Findings suggest that valence-specific motivational reactions are not dampened with an increase in BP, and are rather sensitized for the negative emotion of anger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Action control theories assume that upon responding to a stimulus response and stimulus features are integrated into a short episodic memory trace; repeating any component spurs on retrieval, affecting subsequent performance. The resulting so-called "binding effects" are reliably observed in discrimination tasks. In contrast, in localization performance, these effects are absent and only inhibition of return (IOR) emerges – a location change benefit. Affective information has been found to modulate binding effects; yet a modulation of IOR has led to mixed results, with many finding no influence at all. In the current study, participants discriminated letters (Experiment 1) or localized dots (Experiment 2) on a touchpad in prime-probe sequences. During the prime display two images – one with fruits and one with a spider – appeared, one of which spatially congruent with the to-be-touched area. In the discrimination task, previously touching a spider compared to a fruit slowed down response repetitions. In contrast, the localization task only showed IOR. This suggests that task-irrelevant valence is integrated with the response and affects subsequent responses due to retrieval. However, this is not ubiquitous but depends on task type. The results shed further light on the impact of affective information on actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The approach-avoidance task (AAT) is an implicit task that measures people's behavioral tendencies to approach or avoid stimuli in the environment. In recent years, it has been used successfully to help explain a variety of health problems (e.g., addictions and phobias). Unfortunately, more recent AAT studies have failed to replicate earlier promising findings. One explanation for these replication failures could be that the AAT does not reliably measure approach-avoidance tendencies. Here, we first review existing literature on the reliability of various versions of the AAT. Next, we examine the AAT's reliability in a large and diverse sample (N = 1077; 248 of whom completed all sessions). Using a smartphone-based, mobile AAT, we measured participants' approach-avoidance tendencies eight times over a period of seven months (one measurement per month) in two distinct stimulus sets (happy/sad expressions and disgusting/neutral stimuli). The mobile AAT's split-half reliability was adequate for face stimuli (r =.85), but low for disgust stimuli (r =.72). Its test–retest reliability based on a single measurement was poor for either stimulus set (all ICC1s <.3). Its test–retest reliability based on the average of all eight measurements was moderately good for face stimuli (ICCk =.73), but low for disgust stimuli (ICCk =.5). Results suggest that single-measurement AATs could be influenced by unexplained temporal fluctuations of approach-avoidance tendencies. These fluctuations could be examined in future studies. Until then, this work suggests that future research using the AAT should rely on multiple rather than single measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our group conducted two randomized controlled trials over 12 years between 2008 and 2020 (total n=261) comparing neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) standard care (SC) with SC plus Family Nurture Intervention (FNI) of infants 26 to 34 weeks GA. The intervention included ~6 hours per week (24 to 36 hours total) of facilitated mother-infant calming sessions aimed at dyadic 'emotional connection"' during the NICU stay. At approximately 35 weeks and 41 weeks postmenstrual age, we collected electroencephalographic (EEG) activity on the brains of all subjects using 128-lead nets. Analyses at near-term age showed dramatic changes in brain function on multiple measures in FNI vs. SC infants. Importantly, we found similar increased prefrontal cortical activity in a multisite replication trial of FNI-NICU. We have documented in 18 publications that FNI group infants had significantly better short- and long-term neurobehavioral functioning, autonomic health, and developmental trajectories. FNI dyads had significantly better autonomic regulation than SC dyads through five years. In this article, we discuss the key features of FNI that led to our results and the theoretical and clinical advances that grew out of the trials. We discuss how these insights can help improve preterm infant outcomes. We introduce new terminology and constructs that describe behavior and physiology and a new assessment tool that correlates with physiology to measure the mother/infant emotional relationship (Welch Emotional Connection Screen). Finally, we discuss the significance of our findings and how our insights might be incorporated into other NICU interventions and widespread standard NICU care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research tested the mental experience of maintenance goals as distinct from goals to approach better outcomes (approach goals) and goals to avoid worse outcomes (avoidance goals). In Studies 1 and 2, participants reported personal goals and categorized them as one of the three goal types. We theorized that maintenance centers on existing positive outcomes, while avoidance centers on future (expected) negative outcomes. We therefore predicted a lesser experience of threat and a greater experience of satisfaction in maintenance compared to avoidance. Additionally, we predicted greater satisfaction in maintenance compared to approach goals, wherein motivation comes from the value of future (desired) positive outcomes rather than current ones. Confirming our predictions, participants rated personal maintenance goals as lower on threat (Study 1) and higher on satisfaction (Studies 1 and 2) compared to avoidance goals. Additionally, revealing the centrality of maintenance, maintenance goals played a major role in reported central life goals (Study 1) and the largest role in goals pursued in the previous week (Study 2). Finally, in Study 3, participants judged another person engaged in maintenance as more satisfied and less threatened than a person engaged in avoidance or approach. Taken together, this work informs about the phenomenological nature of maintenance and advances a theory-driven ternary taxonomy of basic goal types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facial expressions are evolutionarily acquired social signals that are processed rapidly by the receiver when deciding to either approach or avoid the person sending the signal. The predominance of the approach or avoidance responses has been examined for various facial expressions. Similar to facial expressions, the approach‐avoidance response to affective voice may have been acquired evolutionarily. However, studies examining approach‐avoidance to an affective voice are limited. This study used the approach‐avoidance task framework developed for facial expressions to determine the dominant behavioural responses to affective voices that indicate either happiness or anger. The results show that the approach response was dominant for the happy voice, while the avoidance response was dominant for the angry voice. This tendency was observed even without the presence of any facial stimuli. These results suggest that an affective voice may be an evolutionarily acquired approach‐avoidance‐inducing social signal, similar to facial expressions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social anxiety (SA) and depression are marked by enhanced avoidance motivations (apprehensions) and reduced approach motivations (aspirations). Integrating an approach/avoidance motivational model with the evolutionary-inspired motivational perspective, we examined the associations of SA and depression with apprehensions and aspirations in the domains of social status. In two cross-sectional samples of young adults (N1 = 277; N2 = 256), we found that, whereas apprehensions concerning the loss of social status contributed to both SA and depression, aspirations and apprehensions concerning social status ascendance uniquely contributed only to SA. Additionally, the effects of social-status avoidance motivations on SA were partly accounted for by social-status aspirations: enhanced apprehensions were associated with reduced aspirations, which were associated with more severe SA. Finally, partial support for gender-specific links between social status motivations and SA was obtained. Our results highlight the potential of integrating the motivational frameworks of approach/avoidance and affiliation/social status to understand shared and specific components of SA and depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Student motivation underpins the challenge of learning, made more complex by the move to online education. While emotions are integral to students' motivation, research has, to date, overlooked the dualistic nature of emotions that can cause stress. Using approach-avoidance conflict theory, the authors explore this issue in the context of novel online students' responses to a fully online class. Design/methodology/approach: Using a combination of critical incident technique and laddering, the authors implemented the big data method of sentiment analysis (SA) which results in approach tables with 1,318 tokens and avoid tables with 1,090 tokens. Using lexicon-based SA, the authors identify tokens relating to approach, avoid and mixed emotions. Findings: The authors implemented the big data method of SA which results in approach tables with 1,318 tokens and avoid tables with 1,090 tokens. Using lexicon-based SA, the authors identify tokens relating to approach, avoid and mixed emotions. These ambivalent emotions provide an opportunity for teachers to rapidly diagnose and address issues of student engagement in an online learning class. Originality/value: Results demonstrate the practical application of SA to unpack the role of emotions in online learner motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We put forward a validation of the first instrument to measure the big four health risk behaviours (World Health Organization, Global status report on non-communicable diseases 2014, WHO, 2014) in a single assessment, the Health Risk Behaviour Inventory (HRBI) that assesses physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, smoking and alcohol in Italian- and English-speaking samples. Further, we investigate the instrument's association with self-regulatory dispositions, exploring culture and gender differences in Italian and US subgroup samples. Overall, 304 English- and 939 Italian-speaking participants completed the HRBI and the self-regulatory questionnaire. We explored the factorial structure, convergent validity, invariance and association with self-regulatory dispositions using structural equation modelling.The HRBI has a robust factorial structure; it usefully converges with widely used healthy lifestyle measures, and it is invariant across the categories of age, gender and languages. Regarding self-regulatory dispositions, the promotion focus emerges as the most protective factor over physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, smoking and alcohol, whereas the prevention focus is associated mainly with smoking and alcohol reduction. Results are consistent across genders and US subgroup-Italian samples. The HRBI is a valid instrument for assessing the big four health risk behaviours in clinic and research contexts, and among self-regulatory measures, the promotion and prevention foci have the greatest efficacy in eliciting positive health behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social difficulties are inherent to social anxiety and are critical in depression. A key feature in both disorders is social avoidance, which leads to the loss of opportunities and precludes from improving social abilities. The need for studying social functioning using interactive tasks that immerse the subject in a social context has been highlighted. Methods: We developed an interactive task that allows measuring social avoidance. In each round, participants choose between two categories of co-players, with which kind of partner they would like to make a team. In material terms, it is always better to choose the high-category option. However, this maximizes chances for being the worst player in the team, which relates to upward social comparison and guilt. Participants with varied levels of depression and social anxiety symptoms performed this task. Results: The higher the depression and social anxiety symptoms, the more that participants avoided the high-category partners, the lower the number of points earned and the higher the negative emotions (guilt, nervousness, shame) reported about having to play with a co-player, with this effect becoming more accentuated as the rank of the co-player increased. Limitations: The study sample was restricted to university students and included mostly women. Conclusions: This work provides a tool for studying social avoidance through an interactive set-up and contributes to the understanding of this behavior in mental health.

Approach and avoidance of positive and negative social cues are fundamental to prevent isolation and ensure survival. High trait social anxiety is characterized by an avoidance of social situations and extensive avoidance is a risk factor for the development of social anxiety disorder (SAD). Therefore, experimental methods to assess social avoidance behavior in humans are essential. The social conditioned place preference (SCPP) paradigm is a well-established experimental paradigm in animal research that is used to objectively investigate social approach–avoidance mechanisms. We retranslated this paradigm for human research using virtual reality. To this end, 58 healthy adults were exposed to either a happy- or angry-looking virtual agent in a specific room, and the effects of this encounter on dwell time as well as evaluation of this room in a later test without an agent were examined. We did not observe a general SCPP effect on dwell time or ratings but discovered a moderation by trait social anxiety, in which participants with higher trait social anxiety spent less time in the room in which the angry agent was present before, suggesting that higher levels of trait social anxiety foster conditioned social avoidance. However, further studies are needed to verify this observation and substantiate an association with social anxiety disorder. We discussed the strengths, limitations, and technical implications of our paradigm for future investigations to more comprehensively understand the mechanisms involved in social anxiety and facilitate the development of new personalized treatment approaches by using virtual reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals with addictions often exhibit approach bias, or the relatively automatic action tendency to approach rather than avoid addiction-related stimuli. The current study used a cannabis-Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT) to assess approach-avoidance tendencies toward cannabis stimuli among 211 undergraduate college students with varying levels of cannabis use. Frequency and severity of cannabis use was assessed using the Cannabis Use Disorder Identification Test – Short Form (CUDIT-R). The sample did not demonstrate a significant approach or avoidance bias toward cannabis stimuli; instead, participants were significantly slower to approach and avoid cannabis stimuli relative to neutral stimuli. Individuals with problematic cannabis use who met criteria for a possible cannabis use disorder (CUD) based on CUDIT-R criteria were significantly slower to avoid but not to approach cannabis stimuli compared to individuals with nonuse and non-problematic use. Moreover, increased frequency and severity of cannabis use was significantly associated with increased reaction times to avoid cannabis stimuli. Findings appear to differ from some previous studies examining approach-avoidance tendencies toward cannabis, suggesting that the role of cognitive biases in cannabis use is complex and should be further investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The emergence of Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) research in the human neurobehavioral domain has been met with increased interest over the past two decades. A variety of PIT tasks were developed during this time; while successful in demonstrating transfer phenomena, existing tasks have limitations that should be addressed. Herein, we introduce two PIT paradigms designed to assess outcome-specific and general PIT within the context of addiction. Materials and Methods: The single-lever PIT task, based on an established paradigm, replaced button presses with joystick motion to better assess avoidance behavior. The full transfer task uses alcohol and nonalcohol rewards associated with Pavlovian cues and instrumental responses, along with other gustatory and monetary rewards. We constructed mixed-effects models with the addition of other statistical analyses as needed to interpret various behavioral measures. Results: Single-lever PIT: both versions were successful in eliciting a PIT effect (joystick: p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.36, button-box: p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.30). Full transfer task: it was determined that the alcohol and nonalcoholic reward cues selectively primed their respective reward-associated responses (gustatory version: p < 0.001, r = 0.59, and monetary version: p < 0.001, r = 0.84). The appetitive/aversive cues resulted in a general transfer effect (gustatory: p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.09, and monetary: p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.17). Discussion/Conclusion: Single-lever PIT: PIT was observed in both task versions. We posit that the use of a joystick is more advantageous for the analysis of avoidance behavior. It evenly distributes movement between approach and avoid trials, which is relevant to analyzing fMRI data. Full transfer task: While gustatory conditioning has been used in the past to elicit transfer effects, we present the first paradigm that successfully elicits both specific and general transfers in humans with gustatory alcohol rewards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Facial 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.

Although optimizing decisions between drives to avoid pain and to obtain reward are critical for survival, understanding the neuronal circuit activity that regulates choice during approach-avoidance conflicts is limited. Here, we recorded neuronal activity in the infralimbic (IL) cortex and nucleus accumbens (NAc) during an approach-avoidance task. In this task, disruption of approach by a pain-predictive cue (PPC-avoidance) is extinguished by experience and reinstated in a model of chronic pain. In the IL-NAc circuit, the activity of distinct subpopulations of neurons predicts the extent of PPC-avoidance observed. Furthermore, chemogenetic and optogenetic manipulations establish that IL-NAc circuitry regulates PPC-avoidance behavior. Our results indicate that IL-NAc circuitry is engaged during approach-avoidance conflicts, and modifications of this circuit by experience and chronic pain determine whether approach or avoidance occurs.

Approach and avoidance of positive and negative social cues are fundamental to prevent isolation and ensure survival. High trait social anxiety is characterized by an avoidance of social situations and extensive avoidance is a risk factor for the development of social anxiety disorder (SAD). Therefore, experimental methods to assess social avoidance behavior in humans are essential. The social conditioned place preference (SCPP) paradigm is a well-established experimental paradigm in animal research that is used to objectively investigate social approach–avoidance mechanisms. We retranslated this paradigm for human research using virtual reality. To this end, 58 healthy adults were exposed to either a happy- or angry-looking virtual agent in a specific room, and the effects of this encounter on dwell time as well as evaluation of this room in a later test without an agent were examined. We did not observe a general SCPP effect on dwell time or ratings but discovered a moderation by trait social anxiety, in which participants with higher trait social anxiety spent less time in the room in which the angry agent was present before, suggesting that higher levels of trait social anxiety foster conditioned social avoidance. However, further studies are needed to verify this observation and substantiate an association with social anxiety disorder. We discussed the strengths, limitations, and technical implications of our paradigm for future investigations to more comprehensively understand the mechanisms involved in social anxiety and facilitate the development of new personalized treatment approaches by using virtual reality.

According to recent theorizing, cognitive control and affective processing are closely linked. Specifically, it has been suggested that negative affect acts as a driving force for attentional adjustment. Empirical support comes from a study by van Steenbergen et al. (Psychol Sci 20:1473–1477, 2009) demonstrating that negative stimuli increase the congruence sequence effect (CSE), a behavioural marker that indexes attentional adjustment. In this research, we provide a theoretical analysis that identifies motivational orientation (approach vs. avoidance) as a potential moderator. To test this, we replicated the study by van Steenbergen et al. (2009) and additionally manipulated the motivational orientation of participants. Participants either gained extra money after task completion (gain-focused group) or lost money after task completion (loss-focused group). Results showed that negative stimuli boost attentional adjustment, but only in the loss-focused group. This finding highlights the role of motivation for recent theorizing on emotion-driven control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frontal alpha asymmetry refers to the difference between the right and left alpha activity over the frontal brain region. Increased activity in the left hemisphere has been linked to approach motivation and increased activity in the right hemisphere has been linked to avoidance or withdrawal. However, research on alpha asymmetry is diverse and has shown mixed results, which may partly be explained by the potency of the used stimuli to emotionally and motivationally engage participants. This review gives an overview of the types of affective stimuli utilized with the aim to identify which stimuli elicit a strong approach-avoidance effect in an affective context. We hope this contributes to better understanding of what is reflected by alpha asymmetry, and in what circumstances it may be an informative marker of emotional state. We systematically searched the literature for studies exploring event-related frontal alpha asymmetry in affective contexts. The search resulted in 61 papers, which were categorized in five stimulus categories that were expected to differ in their potency to engage participants: images & sounds, videos, real cues, games and other tasks. Studies were viewed with respect to the potency of the stimuli to evoke significant approach-avoidance effects on their own and in interaction with participant characteristics or condition. As expected, passively perceived stimuli that are multimodal or realistic, seem more potent to elicit alpha asymmetry than unimodal stimuli. Games, and other stimuli with a strong task-based component were expected to be relatively engaging but approach-avoidance effects did not seem to be much clearer than the studies using perception of videos and real cues. While multiple factors besides stimulus characteristics determine alpha asymmetry, and we did not identify a type of affective stimulus that induces alpha asymmetry highly consistently, our results indicate that strongly engaging, salient and/or personally relevant stimuli are important to induce an approach-avoidance effect.

We have previously proposed that mothers and infants co-regulate one another’s autonomic state through an autonomic conditioning mechanism, which starts during gestation and results in the formation of autonomic socioemotional reflexes (ASRs) following birth. Theoretically, autonomic physiology associated with the ASR should correlate concomitantly with behaviors of mother and infant, although the neuronal pathway by which this phenomenon occurs has not been elucidated. In this paper, we consider the neuronal pathway by which sensory stimuli between a mother and her baby/child affect the physiology and emotional behavior of each. We divide our paper into two parts. In the first part, to gain perspective on current theories on the subject, we conduct a 500-year narrative history of scientific investigations into the human nervous system and theories that describe the neuronal pathway between sensory stimulus and emotional behavior. We then review inconsistencies between several currently accepted theories and recent data. In the second part, we lay out a new theory of emotions that describes how sensory stimuli between mother and baby unconsciously control the behavior and physiology of both. We present a theory of mother/infant emotion based on a set of assumptions fundamentally different from current theories. Briefly, we propose that mother/infant sensory stimuli trigger conditional autonomic socioemotional reflexes (ASRs), which drive cardiac function and behavior without the benefit of the thalamus, amygdala or cortex. We hold that the ASR is shaped by an evolutionarily conserved autonomic learning mechanism (i.e., functional Pavlovian conditioning) that forms between mother and fetus during gestation and continues following birth. We highlight our own and others research findings over the past 15 years that support our contention that mother/infant socioemotional behavior is driven by mutual autonomic state plasticity, as opposed to cortical trait plasticity. We review a novel assessment tool designed to measure the behaviors associated with the ASR phenomenon. Finally, we discuss the significance of our theory for the treatment of mothers and infants with socioemotional disorders.

Abstract Background Given their ubiquity and technological facilities, smartphone-based interventions (SBIs) hold potential to support the cost-effective dissemination of evidence-based treatments for depression. As technologically enriched, blended approach–avoidance modification trainings (AAMTs) have recently been shown effective for symptom reduction in various mental health problems, we developed a blended SBI combining group-based psychoeducation and 14 days of app training utilizing principles from AAMT to reduce depressive symptoms. Methods In this pilot trial, N = 16 individuals with heightened depression scores were randomized to either an intervention group using the mentalis Phoenix app or a wait list control condition. As outcomes, we descriptively explored usability of the app, engagement with the intervention, and possible reductions of depressive symptoms. Results Data analyses suggest that the SBI tested in this pilot trial possesses high usability, is frequently engaged with, and reduces depressive symptoms in participants in the intervention group when compared to wait list controls. Conclusions This pilot study provides preliminary evidence that an SBI utilizing AAMT can reduce depressive symptoms. Future studies should replicate these findings using larger samples and disentangle possible mechanisms of change. Trial registration DRKS-ID: DRKS00021613 (retrospectively registered).

This study examined the relationship between worry and health behaviours using an online survey of 69,033 respondents from 32 countries. We hypothesized that past health behaviours predicted worry experienced, which in turn predicted future health behaviours, and included a metric of cultural distance from the US. Past behaviours such as maintaining physical distance predicted higher worry, whereas worry reduced the likelihood of going outside. Being culturally dissimilar to the US was associated with lower worry. However, cultural distance was not associated with future health behaviours. We analyse worry as an approach-avoidance motivator of health behaviours from a cross-cultural perspective, to facilitate effective health communication strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual dysfunctions are commonly associated with depression by which women are particularly affected. In the following study, we looked at which stage–early attention-related processes or later evaluation-related processes–of the processing of sexual stimuli deviations occur in depressed individuals. We examined 96 women who either suffered from a major depressive disorder, or had recovered from it, and a healthy control group. The early level of attention processes was represented by reaction time tasks (dot probe, line orientation, picture categorization). In addition, implicit approach and avoidance behavior was tested by the Approach-Avoidance Task. Later evaluation of the visual material was determined with the help of a questionnaire for recording automatic negative thoughts regarding sexuality. Reaction times and explicit ratings as well as the Becks Depression Inventory (BDI II), the Trait Sexual Motivation Questionnaire (TSMQ), the Sexual Modes Questionnaire (SMQ) and a screening for sexual dysfunction were used. Depressed women did not differ significantly from healthy women in their attention processes and approach-avoidance behavior. However, there were clear differences in explicit assessment and automatic thoughts about sexual stimuli. Women who had recovered from depression lay between the 2 groups. The results indicated that the therapy of sexual dysfunction in depressed patients should focus more on automatic thoughts than on attention processes. This study is the first to experimentally research the attention processes of depression towards sexual stimuli. However, participants were only tested on one occasion so that change of attention processes and evaluation of sexual stimuli over the course of a depression could not be assessed. Our novel findings demonstrate the role of attention processes in sexual dysfunctions of depressed women and suggest potential mechanisms that may underlie the observed correlation between depression and sexual dysfunction. Baranowski AM, Noll A-K, Golder S, et al. Effects of Depression on Processing and Evaluation of Sexual Stimuli in Women. J Sex Med 2022;19:441–451. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The approach–avoidance perspective provides a theoretical framework through which the dynamic nature of sexual harassment can be understood meaningfully in a workplace context. Rather than being purely threat or incentive, potentially harassing situations may contain elements of both, leading to approach and avoidance attitudes. Across two studies, we explore how three factors (relative attractiveness, gender, and relationship status) affect approach–avoidance attitudes in the target (study 1) and initiator (study 2), and how these attitudes affect (a) labeling the interaction as sexual harassment and (b) forecasts of filing a complaint. Results indicate that the three factors affect approach and avoidance attitudes for both targets and initiators, and that these attitudes mediate both the effect of labeling the interaction as sexual harassment and forecasts of filing a complaint. Implications for managers, human resources personnel, and other third parties who manage sexual harassment disputes are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Body and food‐related information are thought to activate cognitive biases and contribute to the maintenance of eating disorders (ED). Approach‐avoidance biases may play an important role in the maintenance of dietary restriction and excessive food intake. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine approach‐avoidance biases toward food and body stimuli in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and healthy controls (HC). Methods: The study included 42 individuals with AN, 24 individuals with BN, and 38 HCs. We used two implicit Approach‐Avoidance Tasks (AAT) to assess approach‐avoidance biases: participants completed a Food‐AAT (high‐calorie vs. low‐calorie food) and a Body‐AAT (thin vs. normal weight bodies). Additionally, explicit ratings of food and body stimuli were assessed. Results: There were no significant Group × Stimulus × Direction interactions in the implicit Food‐AAT or implicit Body‐AAT. In explicit ratings, individuals with AN and BN reported less urge to eat and more regret if they ate high‐calorie and low‐calorie food; individuals with AN and BN rated normal weight bodies as less normal weight, less attractive and less desirable than HCs. There were no group differences in explicit ratings of the thin body. Discussion: We did not find evidence for biased approach‐avoidance tendencies toward food or body stimuli in individuals with AN or BN. Future studies are necessary to understand conflicting findings regarding approach‐avoidance biases toward food and body stimuli in individuals with ED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In everyday life, interactions between humans are generally modulated by the value attributed to the situation, which partly relies on the partner's behavior. A pleasant or cooperating partner may trigger an approach behavior in the observer, while an unpleasant or threatening partner may trigger an avoidance behavior. In this context, the correct interpretation of other's intentions is crucial to achieve satisfying social interactions. Social cues such as gaze direction and facial expression are both fundamental and interrelated. Typically, whenever gaze direction and facial expression of others communicate the same intention, it enhances both the interlocutor's gaze direction and the perception of facial expressions (i.e., shared signal hypothesis). For instance, an angry face with a direct gaze is perceived as more intense since it represents a threat to the observer. In this study, we propose to examine how the combination of others' gaze direction (direct or deviated) and emotional facial expressions (i.e., happiness, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, and neutrality) influence the observer's gaze perception and postural control. Gaze perception was indexed by the cone of direct gaze (CoDG) referring to the width over which an observer feels someone's gaze is directed at them. A wider CoDG indicates that the observer perceived the face as looking at them over a wider range of gaze directions. Conversely, a narrower CoDG indicates a decrease in the range of gaze directions perceived as direct. Postural control was examined through the center of pressure displacements reflecting postural stability and approach-avoidance tendencies. We also investigated how both gaze perception and postural control may vary according to participants' personality traits and emotional states (e.g., openness, anxiety, etc.). Our results confirmed that gaze perception is influenced by emotional faces: a wider CoDGs was observed with angry and disgusted faces while a narrower CoDG was observed for fearful faces. Furthermore, facial expressions combined with gaze direction influence participants' postural stability but not approach-avoidance behaviors. Results are discussed in the light of the approach-avoidance model, by considering how some personality traits modulate the relation between emotion and posture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]